Book 4 - The Commandments
by GailDunn2
Summary: 4th book in the series. Castiel and Gail are on the run from Heaven, and Sam and Dean can't help them. There is a new Angel who wants God's job, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. Cas's past is catching up to him and Heaven is looking to make him pay.


BOOK 4 - THE COMMANDMENTS

1 - NO OTHER GODS

Xavier had been waiting nearly a week, but he could wait no longer.

Ever since he and Ignatius had met with Castiel and given him the summons to appear at the upcoming tribunal, Xavier had been expecting...well, something. He was amazed that none of his fellow board members had even blinked when he had set the date for the tribunal hearing 2 days from now.

Xavier wanted Castiel out of the way as soon as possible so that he himself could take over as God. There was only one thing wrong with this picture: Bobby was still the reigning God, and as far as any other Angel knew, Bobby was still around. But none of the board members had asked Xavier why he was rushing to get to a tribunal for God's successor while Bobby still held the Office.

The reason was simple: Xavier now knew that the current God, Bobby, was gone. And he would never be coming back.

It had all worked out so well. Xavier had gone to Bobby's office intending to ask for, or more accurately, to demand Bobby's presence at an emergency board meeting. Xavier had intended to confront Bobby with Rowena's spell book in front of the other board members and hold a vote for impeachment right then and there. He'd even have Castiel at the meeting so all the board members were present and the vote was done properly. All they needed was a majority vote, so Xavier wasn't concerned about Castiel's inevitable dissenting vote. Bobby would have been impeached by the end of the day, and then the tribunal would be held. Depending on how long the testimony took, Xavier assumed he would have been able to assume the Office within the week. Of course, with Castiel's illustrious record, the tribunal itself might last a week or more, Xavier thought. But it had to be done properly, according to the laws of Heaven, so that Castiel's conviction would stick. This was the chance Xavier had waited so long for, to both assume the High Office himself and get rid of Castiel, in one fell swoop.

But when Xavier got to Bobby's office, the receptionist had told him that Bobby wasn't in, and she hadn't seen him for about a week now. A week? Xavier was surprised, and more than a little frustrated. Where the hell was he?

Bobby's receptionist, Laurel, had been wondering the same thing. Since Bobby had taken over the Office, Laurel had seen him pretty much every day at some point. She knew he had spent some time on Earth; unlike his predecessor, Bobby was an active, "hands-on" administrator. He'd told Laurel that he would be in and out of the office a lot, but he would always check for messages and he'd never be gone for too long.

But Laurel hadn't seen her boss for nearly a week now, and she was worried. Even though Bobby was still relatively new to the job, he'd always communicated with her very well and though Laurel didn't always know exactly where her boss was, she knew she'd be hearing from him shortly. But now he was just gone, and the silence had become deafening. She had waited as long as she could, but that very morning, Laurel had tried to contact Bobby on Angel Radio, just for her own peace of mind. But there had been no response, absolutely none. Not even an "I'm busy, I'll call you back." Nothing. God had gone missing.

So Laurel had no choice but to tell Xavier. She didn't care for Xavier personally; he had always struck her as being uptight and priggish. But Laurel was a professional, and she had to respect Xavier's senior position.

He had pursed his lips. "Did he at least tell you where he was going?" Xavier asked her.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I have no idea," Laurel had said.

Xavier had stood there at her desk for a moment, then he had stalked away without another word.

Soon afterwards, it was time for her to pack up and leave for the day. Laurel was starting to get very worried by now. If the senior Heaven-based Angel for the Upper Echelon was looking for Bobby and didn't know where he was either, there was something fishy going on. Was there something else she should be doing at this point? But, Laurel was just a receptionist; was it really her place? Maybe Bobby would show up and contact her in the morning and her concerns would be unfounded. If not, she'd decide what her next step should be.

Xavier had reached the end of his patience. What kind of administrator just left the office for a week and didn't tell anyone where he was going, not even his own receptionist? Was Bobby on Earth, visiting his precious humans? Or were he and Castiel off somewhere, plotting their next move?

In any event, the first domino had to fall first. That meant that Bobby had to be out of the way in order for Castiel's tribunal to be held; only then, when Castiel was also gone, could Xavier take over the High Office under the emergency succession rule. But how was he supposed to impeach Bobby if no one could find him?

That night after Laurel left her post for the day, Xavier used his key to let himself into Bobby's office once more. He was hoping to find some sort of a clue as to Bobby's whereabouts. Xavier told himself that he hated to resort to these clandestine methods, but they'd left him with no choice. After speaking to Laurel earlier, he had tried to contact both Bobby and Castiel on their private Angel Radio frequencies, but neither had replied. Big surprise, he thought sarcastically. So he'd tried to play by the rules, Xavier rationalized, but his two targets were renegades who clearly did not.

Xavier searched Bobby's office but found nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to suggest why God had gone missing. He was standing there contemplating his next move when the black phone rang.

He wheeled towards the credenza, where he knew the Hotline to Hell was. Should he pick it up? On the one hand, Xavier's presence in the office was unauthorized. On the other hand, Xavier had spoken to Crowley on the Hotline before. Perhaps Crowley knew where Bobby was; it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. And if Crowley were to report Xavier's after-hours presence in the office to Bobby, Xavier felt reasonably sure he would be able to plead concern over Bobby's sudden absence as a reason for his being here. That was if Bobby even believed Crowley. Demons were all liars, weren't they?

So Xavier picked up the phone, and he was very glad he did. Crowley had some good news for him.

"It's about time you picked up," Crowley said. "I've been trying to call you for days, Xavier."

Xavier was startled. How could Crowley know it was he who would be answering the phone?

"I've got some good news for you," Crowley continued. "You owe me a big favour. I've got Bobby here with me, and he's enjoying his stay so much that he's decided to extend it indefinitely."

Xavier could scarcely believe it. Bobby was in Hell with Crowley? Was this a trick, or just a bad joke?

"Very funny, Crowley," Xavier snapped. He was in no mood. "God is a guest in Hell." Sarcastically.

Crowley sat back in his chair, smirking at Metatron. He wished the Hotline had a speaker feature.

"Who said he was a guest?" Crowley said.

Xavier was puzzled. Did Crowley mean to suggest that he was holding Bobby prisoner? And, while the idea excited Xavier, Crowley had to be lying. Bobby was God, which meant he had God's powers. Even Hell could not hold God.

"So you claim you're holding God prisoner," Xavier said scornfully. "God." More sarcasm.

Crowley had more or less been expecting that reaction, but he was a little annoyed at Xavier's attitude. The guy wasn't even God yet, but he sure thought he was superior. Crowley looked surreptitiously at Metatron. There was a lot of that going around lately. Time for a lesson.

"How long have you been in service, Xavier?" Crowley asked casually.

Xavier was also getting annoyed. Crowley had a reputation for being a gamesman, but Xavier had no desire to play games. "Just what does that have to do with anything?" he said testily.

Crowley said nothing. He could wait all night; it was he who was doing Xavier the favour.

Xavier sighed. "Many years, Crowley," he replied. "I know you know that."

Crowley did, of course. He was just enjoying himself at this self-righteous prig's expense. Pity he needed Xavier to get rid of Castiel; the guy was a humourless old curmudgeon.

"So then you would be familiar with a certain cage your former boss constructed to hold a certain disgruntled former employee," Crowley said coyly. There. If Xavier couldn't do the math, he didn't deserve the High Office.

Xavier nearly dropped the phone. Surely Crowley wasn't talking about Lucifer's cage?

"Are you trying to tell me that you are holding Bobby Singer in Lucifer's cage?" Xavier said breathlessly.

"Bingo," Crowley said cheerfully.

Xavier was astonished. Crowley was the King of Hell and he was repugnant and slimy, but if he was telling the truth, Xavier also felt a grudging admiration for him. How could he have pulled that off?

"I can hear the wheels spinning," Crowley continued. "Ask the Winchesters. They'll tell you. I'm telling the truth. I only regret that I wasn't able to lock up your best friend Castiel at the same time. But a close associate of mine tells me you'll be only too glad to take care of that one yourself."

Then Crowley handed the phone to Metatron.

"Hello, Xavier," Metatron said into the receiver. "Long time, no speak."

Xavier froze. Metatron, the most notorious figure in Heaven since Lucifer himself, was a "close associate" of Crowley's? But then again, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Birds of a feather. Achieving the High Office had been an obsession of Xavier's for years, but he was starting to feel decidedly unclean.

But in for a penny, in for a pound. The wheels had been set in motion, and Xavier wasn't going to let a temporary pang of conscience stop him now. Like it or not, Crowley and Metatron were his unholy bedfellows at the moment.

"I'll be in touch," Xavier said, hanging up the phone abruptly.

Metatron handed the receiver back to Crowley. "He hung up."

Crowley replaced the receiver and put the white phone back in his desk drawer. He wasn't particularly bothered that Xavier had hung up the phone after hearing Metatron's voice; Crowley might have done the same thing had he been in Xavier's shoes. Crowley was sure it must be a really strange feeling for a high-ranking Angel like Xavier to be suddenly allied with the King of Hell as it was, and when you threw someone like Metatron into the mix, it must be almost unbearable. But Xavier would bear it, Crowley knew. Xavier was a hardline Angel; he never gave up, and he never gave an inch.

Metatron had filled Crowley in on Xavier and his politics back when Xavier had first broken into Bobby's office and answered the Hotline. Crowley had known of him, of course. Crowley made it his business to know the enemy, and he had a list of the names of all 7 Upper Echelon Angels. But Metatron went way back with these guys, and before he'd become Public Enemy Number One in Heaven, Metatron had acquired quite a bit of intel.

The King of Hell and the former Scribe of God had continued their daily bull sessions in Crowley's office over a drink, but Crowley was growing tired of their association. Truthfully, he was tired of Metatron. He was a little hard to take in large doses. Metatron thought of himself as witty and erudite, but to Crowley, he was smarmy and a bit of a weasel, really. While Metatron's evil was on the level of Crowley's own in terms of intent, Metatron's was a lot less sophisticated. He was like a petulant child who saw something he wanted and just reached out to grab it. No patience, no finesse.

And Crowley knew what Metatron wanted; he wanted back into Heaven, wanted to be sitting in a seat of power, like Crowley was now. The bloke had once fancied himself to be God. That was what was supposed to have happened after The Fall; according to Metatron, all the little lost lamb Angels would have just meekly followed Metatron and accepted him as their God. But it hadn't happened that way, Metatron had told Crowley bitterly. That damned Castiel had come along with his blue-eyed good looks and hero's facade, and Angels had started to follow him instead.

Clearly Metatron was jealous of Castiel, and Xavier obviously suffered from the same malady. Crowley could almost feel sorry for the guy; it seemed like Castiel was more hated by his own kind than by Crowley and his. Well, almost. Once Castiel was convicted by Xavier's kangaroo court and put to death, Crowley might have to host a party and put some Angels on the guest list.

And Metatron had guaranteed Crowley that this would happen. He had been present in Heaven when Xavier had held the previous tribunals, and the leaders of the Spanish Inquisition had nothing on Xavier. The poor saps who had thought they were good enough to achieve the High Office had been quite surprised to find themselves under a microscope, having every aspect of their lives and those of their loved ones examined in excruciating detail. By the time Xavier had been finished with them, the wretched souls had found themselves being thrown into Heaven's prison, or worse. Metatron knew of two Angels who had been found so morally wanting by Xavier and his board that they'd been put to death. The ancient laws were a bitch.

Metatron was practically salivating at the prospect of Castiel being subjected to this process. With all of the things he'd done in the past? All the murders, the multitude of sins...not to mention the fact that he was metaphorically in bed with Sam and Dean Winchester, two humans, and Xavier was vociferously anti-human, even though he claimed not to be. And speaking of being in bed...what of his relationship with little Angel Gail? Metatron couldn't wait to see what Xavier would do with that. While Metatron and everyone else knew that Angels were celibate, he could just bet that Xavier wasn't going to let that minor fact get in his way. Metatron could actually help Xavier in that regard if he were so inclined. He now knew that Castiel and Gail had been human when they were in Las Vegas, and there was no one on the board who would believe that they had spent an entire weekend in Sin City just holding hands. Metatron sincerely doubted that even Xavier could apply the death penalty to a conviction on one morals charge alone, but if he couldn't see Gail put to death, he would settle for a prison term for her for the time being. And when he was back in Heaven sitting at Xavier's right hand, Metatron could arrange for a little...accident. By that time, Castiel would be dead anyway, and no one would mourn the passing of an ordinary Angel like Gail.

But he would keep this little tidbit to himself for now. Metatron knew that Crowley was still considering acquiring Gail for himself, and there was no reason for Metatron to tip his hand yet. Once Castiel was convicted and Xavier had reinstated Metatron to Heaven, Crowley would just have to get over it. Metatron would have his revenge.

Castiel and Gail were at that moment getting accustomed to their new circumstances.

After getting warded, they had rented a car, and Cas had started driving north after asking Gail where she wanted to go. She had always wanted to see Canada, so off they went.

The road trip had been an adventure, and a mostly positive one. Gail had found that there were some things she had missed about being out on the road with no specific destination in mind. When she and her brother Frank had travelled together, unless he had a case to work, they had driven around aimlessly, talking, listening to music on the radio, just enjoying the scenery. And her journey with Cas was turning out to be very much the same. There was something very freeing about being on the open road just driving around. She supposed they were fugitives from Heaven now; at least technically, Castiel was, but Gail didn't care about that. As an Angel, she probably should care, but when Cas had explained about Xavier and his vendetta, Gail knew that there was no way that Xavier could ever be allowed to get his clutches on Castiel.

That first night, they had by mutual agreement stopped at a motel in Nebraska. Though Castiel didn't sleep, Gail still thought he should at least rest from driving from time to time. She'd never learned to drive, much to her regret. But Cas didn't seem to mind. He enjoyed driving; it was one of the increasing list of human activities he'd learned over the years that he liked to do, and was proud of himself for having mastered.

Still, Gail insisted that they stop to rest once in a while, and that was all right with Cas. He'd wanted to wait until they got out of the state, though. Although they were both warded now, there was just something psychologically comforting about getting a little further away from their apartment. The Castiel part of him realized this made no sense whatsoever; the threat they were facing originated from Heaven, not Earth, and therefore their geographic location shouldn't really factor in. Even the fact that they'd decided to literally flee the country should have made no difference. But the Cas in him was inexplicably excited about the prospect of going to Canada with Gail. Xavier had been right about one thing and one thing only: it seemed the longer he spent with humans, the more Castiel was starting to think and feel like them. And Gail still acted more human than Angel. She liked to put on the car radio and search for her favourite songs, and when she found one she particularly liked, she would move to the beat. He found himself glancing at her and smiling. With the exception of their weekend in Las Vegas, he had never seen her looking happier and more relaxed, and Cas found himself feeling more relaxed as a result.

They'd been staying in motel rooms, very much like Gail used to do with her brother. There was one significant difference, though. Now they requested a room with just one bed, and they cuddled every night. It comforted Cas to have her next to him throughout the night, and to be able to hold her. He'd been so afraid for her safety since they'd gotten back from their holiday, but now that they had decided to leave their old life behind, Cas felt that he could finally let go of his fear and anger at the continued existence of their enemies and just enjoy being with Gail.

For her part, Gail was feeling mostly the same way, but she was also feeling other things. Their nights spent in motel rooms not only reminded her of being on the road with her brother, who was lost to her now, but of Sam and Dean. After praying to their friends for a while, the Winchesters had stopped, and Gail missed hearing their voices, even via this new and strange form of communication.

She and Cas were debating the subject as the miles between them and the brothers grew.

"I don't understand why we can't at least call them and let them know we're okay," Gail said to Cas.

That was not the first time she had brought this up, and Cas's grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel.

"We've already talked about this, Gail," he said to her. Cas was trying to be patient; he understood how much she missed Sam and Dean. He missed them too, but: "I just think it's best for the time being if we remain out of contact for a while."

"But why?" she persisted.

Cas sighed. "I miss them too, Gail, but it's for their safety. If Bobby is impeached, and I'm sure he will be, Xavier will schedule my tribunal, if he hasn't already. When I don't show up for it, he'll be very angry. There will be a bounty on me, and possibly on you, as well. It's best if Sam and Dean don't know where we are. The Angels that Xavier will send looking for me won't ask nicely."

Gail was startled. Cas had never mentioned this last part in their previous discussions. But they were fugitives now, or soon would be once Xavier realized that Cas had no intention of showing up for the tribunal. What had she expected, that Xavier would just shrug and forget all about it? But the idea of Angel bounty hunters who played rough was disconcerting to Gail. She once again realized that she had a lot to learn about the way things worked in Heaven, and she felt badly about having badgered Cas about it.

He was still gripping the wheel and his facial expression was grim, so Gail put her hand on his leg and said, "I'm sorry, Cas. I had no idea."

He thawed immediately. "I'm sorry too, Gail. I should have explained the consequences to you more fully when we were leaving. I guess I was just so anxious to get going, and you seemed so happy..." he trailed off.

Gail was touched. After all this time, he was still putting her feelings before his own. It had to be daunting to think about bounty hunters potentially going after your friends to get information on your whereabouts. Cas was no doubt feeling guilty about this prospect.

But she had just thought of something, and guilty feelings aside, she had to let him know. "Couldn't they just THINK Sam and Dean know where we are and go after them anyway?" Gail said.

Castiel nearly drove the car off the road. How had he not thought of that? Of course she was right. Not contacting their friends had not been the right call. The Winchesters needed to be warned.

"We need to get to a phone right away," he said. "I was wrong, Gail. I should have listened to you in the first place."

Dean's cell phone rang and the call display came up as an unknown number. As soon as Dean picked up, Cas said, "Dean, I have to warn you about something."

"Freaking finally!" Dean said. "Hold on, Cas, I'm putting you on speaker." He placed the phone on the table between himself and Sam.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" Dean demanded.

"Is it just you and Sam there?" Cas asked.

Dean looked at Sam and rolled his eyes. Why could Cas never answer a direct question with a direct answer?

"Yeah, it's just us, Cas," Sam said. "What's going on? Where are you?"

"I can't tell you that," Cas said. "We just called to warn you. There may be Angels looking for you soon."

What was he talking about? "Has this got to do with Crowley? And Bobby?" Sam asked.

Crowley? Bobby? Now Castiel was confused. "What about them?" he said. "Wait. Just a minute. Gail should hear this as well."

Gail had been standing outside the phone booth waiting. Cas grabbed her by the hand and pulled her in close to him, and tilted the phone so they could both hear.

"Hi, guys," she said. There was so much more she wanted to say to them, but now was not the time. She and Cas had to make sure the brothers were aware of what could be coming their way.

But now Cas said to her, "They're talking about Crowley and Bobby."

Her forehead wrinkled. What?

"What ABOUT Crowley and Bobby?" Cas said into the phone.

"What do you mean, Angels might be looking for us?" Dean countered. There. Let him see how it felt to have your question answered with a question.

"What about Crowley and Bobby, Dean?" Cas asked again.

"The last we saw Bobby, he was going into Hell with Crowley," Sam said. "When you said Angels would be looking for us, we assumed it had something to do with that."

Cas had known about Bobby's apparent meeting with Crowley from having heard the brothers' prayers, and he had filled Gail in on what he'd heard, but now he started to wonder. If Bobby had gone back to Heaven and was being impeached, wouldn't he have called Cas on his private Angel Radio frequency for help, or at the very least, to let him know? But there had been nothing. Cas didn't want to contact Bobby himself and involve Bobby in his situation any more than he'd wanted to involve Sam and Dean, but Cas now felt that he had no choice. Besides, if by some miracle Bobby had not been impeached, Cas needed to know. Maybe he and Gail did not need to keep on going if that was the case.

So, even as he and Gail were talking to the Winchesters, Cas sent out an urgent call to Bobby on his private frequency. Please call Cas right away, but tell no one you heard from me.

Cas sent out the message twice in quick succession, but he received no response. Now he was getting concerned. He couldn't imagine Bobby ignoring an urgent message like that. Then a thought occurred to him that made his blood run cold. What if something more sinister than impeachment had happened to Bobby?

"Cas? Cas!" Dean said impatiently. "You wanna tell us what the hell is going on?"

"I need you to do me a favour, Dean," Cas said. "I need you to call Crowley for me."

Dean looked at Sam incredulously, then looked back at the phone on the table as if Cas could see him.

"You want me to call Crowley for you?" Dean repeated. "Why?"

"I need to find out if he's talked to Bobby since their meeting," Cas said.

"Why don't you call Bobby yourself?" Sam asked.

"I just did," Cas replied. "Two urgent calls. No answer."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances again. Should they be concerned about this? It sounded like Cas was. And just where the hell were he and Gail, anyway?

"Cas, what in the holy hell is going on?" Dean asked, exasperated with his friend. "Just tell us where you are and what this is all about!"

"Are you OK, Gail?" Sam asked. He knew she was listening, but she hadn't said anything since her initial greeting. Why would she be OK with Cas asking Dean to call Crowley? At the very least, maybe she could give them the straight answers that Cas seemed unwilling to give.

"Yeah, I'm OK, Sam," Gail replied. She looked up at Cas, wondering what he was thinking about Bobby. She inquired with her eyes, but he said nothing.

"Where are you?" Sam asked. "What's going on with you two? Why is your stuff gone from the apartment?"

So they HAD been there, Gail thought. She felt badly for the guys, but she knew she couldn't tell them anything right now. "I'm sorry, Sam, Dean, can you please just do what Cas is asking you?"

"Well, I guess you're an official Angel now, Gail," Dean said sarcastically. "No straight answer from you either."

Gail was used to hearing him complain about this, but this was the first time he'd directed the comment at her, and it stung badly. She realized he was right. Sam and Dean were their friends and had always had their backs; no matter how potentially deadly the situation had been, the brothers had always been there for her, and for Cas. What were they doing, keeping their friends in the dark like this? Gail had been frustrated when Castiel had treated her the same way, and she was on Dean's side on this one.

"We have to talk. Now," she said to Castiel. Then Gail grabbed the receiver from his hand and said into it, "We'll talk to you guys in a minute." Then she hung up the phone.

Castiel looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "What was that all about?" he asked her.

"Dean's right," Gail told him. "We need to talk to them."

"Weren't we just doing that?" he said, puzzled.

"No, what we were doing was pulling that evasive Angel crap that Dean loves so much," Gail said sarcastically. "We were shutting them out. The same thing you used to do to me. I can't do that to them. It's not fair."

Castiel was angry. He'd been stung by her having referred to his shutting her out in the past. While that was true, this situation was different. Couldn't she see that? "Not everything in life is fair," he said coolly. "You of all people should know that by now. Frank is in Hell, is he not?"

They stared at each other for a moment, then Gail said quietly, "I can't believe you would say that to me." She yanked open the phone booth door and stalked over to where the car was parked.

Cas just stood there for a moment. The second he'd said it, he realized he'd gone too far. Angry or not, it had been cruel of him to make reference to the one thing that bothered Gail the most and use it to illustrate his point. What the hell was wrong with him?

Cas rushed after her. She was standing beside the car with her back to him, just standing there, as if unsure what to do next.

"I'm sorry, Gail," he said. "I should not have said that." He tentatively reached out for her hand, but she pulled away as soon as he touched her.

Gail was angry now, and she was trying not to cry. Damn right, he shouldn't have said that. While he was not wrong, it had hurt her to be reminded of the fact that her brother was burning in Hell while she'd been running around on a road trip with her boyfriend. The very man who'd just used the most sensitive subject in Gail's life to make a point.

She wheeled on Cas. "I'm going to talk to Sam and Dean. I need to talk to Sam and Dean."

He reached for her again, but she'd already gone.

Gail appeared in the bunker, startling the brothers.

Sam got up from the table and walked over to her, and Gail threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, and she was grateful for the comfort.

"No that we're not happy to see you," Dean said sardonically, "but what the hell, Gail?"

"I'm sorry, I know how much you hate that." Gail smiled through her tears. "Actually, I'm kind of proud of myself, though. I've never done that at such a long distance before. Well, not by myself, anyway." She disengaged herself from Sam's embrace and walked over to Dean, kissing him on the cheek. "Hi, guy," she said to him, then sat down heavily on the chair next to him.

"Well, I guess Cas and I have just had our first official fight," Gail told the brothers. She still felt very upset, but seeing Sam and Dean and being here with them was starting to make her feel better already.

"Where is he?" Sam asked, sitting down next to her.

"I don't know if I should say exactly," Gail replied. Though she was very angry with him at the moment, Gail was mindful of what Castiel had said about not divulging any information that potential bounty hunters could use. "Suffice it to say that he's on the side of the road beside the phone booth that we used to call you guys."

Gail took a deep breath. She supposed it had been childish of her to just bail out on Castiel like that. Yes, what he'd said had been very hurtful, but they were in a serious situation themselves and she'd better not forget that. So they'd had a fight; or more accurately, he had lost his temper and then she had lost hers, but the bigger picture was what was important at the moment.

So she opened up to the brothers, telling them about the politics going on in Heaven and the tribunal Castiel was supposed to attend if Bobby was impeached.

Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing. "This guy Xavier is a real douche," he said.

"You're not kidding," Gail agreed.

"So this - 'tribunal'..." Sam mused. "From what you're saying, it sounds like they'd be putting him on trial, or something."

"Exactly," Gail replied.

"Well, does he at least get to have a defense counsel?" Sam was trying to wrap his head around it.

"Yeah, and what exactly are they putting him on trial for?" Dean asked.

Gail sighed. "Crimes against Heaven, I guess." The brothers exchanged glances. She continued, "You guys know that he's done some not-so-great things in the past. From what I can understand, they can use all of that against him, and recent sins count, too."

"What do you mean, recent sins?" Dean said. He was getting angry. "Cas isn't 'that guy' any more, we all know that."

Gail looked at him. "Las Vegas," she said shortly.

Dean stared back at her unbelievingly. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Gail replied. "Apparently, there might be charges for me on that, too."

"For you?" Dean asked. He still didn't get it. "For what?"

She tilted her head at him. "Morals clause, Dean. Think about it."

"Morals clause?" Sam repeated. As usual, he had gotten there first. "But you and Cas were humans."

She laughed shortly. "You think that matters to a guy like Xavier? From what I could tell, the 'tribunal'," she used air quotes, "is based on the Ten Commandments."

"Well, then, you should be fine," Sam argued.

"What Commandment are we even talking about here?" Dean asked, confused. Just when he thought Heaven couldn't get any more screwed up, now they were actually talking about Bobby getting impeached as God, and Cas going on trial based on something he wasn't even sure really existed. "Assuming I even buy this crap, I don't see how anything in the Ten Commandments applies to you and Cas in Vegas."

"Number Seven," Gail said wryly.

"Seven?" Sam said. "Thou shalt not commit adultery? But neither of you are married."

She looked at him, smiling bitterly. "You're right. But Cas showed me the summons. I didn't understand most of what it said. It's written in what he calls 'the ancient language'. But that part was very clear. The Seventh Commandment has been interpreted to mean, and I quote: 'God forbids sex outside the bonds of marriage'."

Gail sat back in her chair, remembering how her heart had sunk when she'd read that. If that was the interpretation they were using, she and Cas were toast.

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. Seriously? So it was OK for Angels to torture and kill, but it wasn't OK for them to...?

"But that's b.s.," Dean protested. "Sam's right, you were humans that weekend, not Angels. And even if you were..."

"I know, and I agree," Gail said. "But it doesn't matter what we think. Cas said the proceeding is held according to some very old rules, ones that have been around since Creation. Bottom line, if that's the interpretation they're using, we're both guilty as hell." Then, she just couldn't resist: "On multiple counts." Gail's lips twitched. She was who she was, and sometimes humour crept up on her in the darkest of situations.

Dean smirked at that. "Really, Gail?" he said. "You really had to go there?"

She laughed then, and it felt good. It had been a giant weight lifted off her shoulders to have been able to confide in her friends this way. Castiel had been wrong not to include the brothers in the discussion, in her opinion. Maybe he felt like it was his problem, not theirs; just more Angel crap. But she didn't regret her trip here. She felt much better now, just having told Sam and Dean what was going on. If Castiel was angry with her, they'd just have to work it out somehow.

"Why did Cas want me to call Crowley?" Dean said suddenly, breaking Gail out of her reverie.

"I believe I can answer that." Castiel's voice, from behind them.

They all turned in their chairs to look at him. He was standing in the library area, holding the bags they'd taken with them and Gail's purse. He put them down on the floor and walked over to Gail. "I am truly sorry," he said to her. "Will you please forgive me?"

Gail relented. As she'd been telling their friends about the tribunal, her sympathy for Castiel had returned. It couldn't be easy to be him right now, and he had been trying to do the right thing, not only for himself, but for her, too. What he'd said was very uncharacteristic of the Cas she knew now, and he'd been under a lot of strain.

She stood and faced him. "I forgive you, Cas," Gail said, and she opened her arms.

"Thank you," he murmured into her ear as they embraced. "Thank you."

Then Cas drew up a chair beside her and he looked at Dean and Sam. "I expect Gail has told you everything that's going on," he said.

"Yeah, finally," Dean retorted. "Why didn't YOU tell us, Cas?" Truthfully, Dean's feelings were hurt. They'd been close friends all these years, and he thought that Cas should have been straight with them about the trouble he was in.

"He had his reasons," Gail said to Dean, automatically sticking up for Cas.

Dean kept himself from rolling his eyes, but just barely. Now she was defending Cas? Women. He'd never understand them.

"I did have my reasons, Dean, Sam," Cas told them. "But Gail showed me I was wrong." He took her hand and smiled gently. Cas already felt better being here too, talking to his friends face to face. She was right; they should have done this in the first place.

"How can we help you, Cas?" Sam asked quietly. He'd been hurt that Cas hadn't confided in them initially too, but he was willing to put these feelings aside in favour of what was really important.

"You can't, Sam," Cas said. He was grateful to Sam for asking, especially after he'd shut them out the way he had, but realistically, there was nothing the Winchesters could do about his and Gail's predicament. Well, just the one thing.

Cas turned to Dean. "The reason I wanted you to call Crowley was to see if he can tell us anything about Bobby," Cas explained. "I can't reach Bobby on Angel Radio, and I obviously can't go to Heaven to see what's going on with him. You both said in your prayers that Bobby went down to Hell to have what I can only assume was a summit meeting with Crowley. I wonder if Bobby was telling him that he'd been impeached, or was about to be."

"But why would Crowley need to trade us for Bobby?" Sam asked, puzzled. That just didn't make sense to him.

It really didn't make sense to Cas, either. "Maybe Crowley didn't think Bobby would come unless he HAD to come," he said. "Maybe taking the two of you was insurance." But even as he was saying it, he realized it sounded lame.

Gail thought that sounded lame, too. Something fishy was going on, even by Crowley's standards.

Now that Cas was back, Dean thought they should tell him the rest of the story. To be fair, he guessed they'd been holding out on Cas, too. Not that they'd talked to him directly, of course. Dean was not really surprised that Cas had heard the content of his and Sam's prayers. It wouldn't be the first time they'd prayed to him and received no answer. But he'd better go easy; there was one important fact he and Sam had omitted to spare Cas's feelings at the time, and the irony was not lost on him. Gail was right; when they shut each other out, bad things tended to happen.

"Then why did he ask for YOU?" Dean said to Cas.

Cas looked at Dean sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Crowley asked for both you and Bobby originally," Sam answered. "He called it a two-for-two trade. When Bobby couldn't reach you, I guess he decided to come alone."

Castiel didn't know what to make of that, but something was very off here. If Crowley had been trying to force a Summit, why would Castiel's presence be required? Yes, he was next in line to the High Office, but Castiel couldn't imagine why Crowley would have wanted to follow Heaven's politics in this manner. Crowley hated Castiel, and the feeling was entirely mutual. If Castiel had had to assume the Office, dealing with Crowley would have been a real challenge for him. Castiel would have just been inclined to run his blade through Crowley and worry about Heaven's laws later. But then, that was just one of the reasons Castiel didn't want to be God. Too many rules getting in the way of what was right.

"Dean, please call Crowley. We need to find out what's going on. I'm afraid I don't see any way Bobby won't be impeached, but if he's not, there may not have to be a tribunal, and then maybe Gail and I can stay."

Something occurred to Sam just then, something they hadn't talked about yet. "Why would Bobby be impeached, anyway?" he asked Cas.

That's right, Cas thought. They didn't know about Rowena and the spell book. But even though he was now on board with full disclosure to the Winchesters, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of telling them about that. It was Bobby's story to tell, whatever it may be, and Castiel didn't even know what had been going on there. At some point, they'd definitely have to receive an explanation from Bobby himself. But right now, the concern was Xavier and the board, and any explanation Bobby might have to offer wouldn't matter to the likes of them. Heaven's rules were pretty explicit when it came to the High Office. God had to be above reproach. Bobby would be impeached immediately. That was why the prospect of a tribunal being held ostensibly to see if Castiel himself was qualified to take over the High Office was almost laughable. With everything he'd done? Bobby could have given Rowena the keys to Heaven, and he'd still come off looking better than Castiel.

"That's not for me to say," Cas said in answer to Sam's question. "And don't look at me like that," he continued when Sam frowned. "I'm not being deliberately evasive. It's Bobby's story to tell, and I can assure you we'll have that conversation with him. But for now, I have to find out Bobby's status in order to figure out my next move." Cas took Gail's hand, looking at her with a smile. "I'm sorry, OUR next move. That is, if you're still willing to come with me." He was joking, but after his terrible mistake earlier, Castiel had to make sure.

Gail squeezed his hand. "Of course I will. You're not getting rid of me that easily," she teased, smiling.

Cas was relieved. Even if he and Gail had to continue on their road trip, fleeing from the worst case scenario, he was glad they had come here. She'd been right all along; they needed the support of their friends. HE needed it. From now on, he'd act on whatever she said.

Dean grabbed his cell phone to call Crowley. "Don't tell him we're here, or mention anything about us," Cas cautioned him.

This time Dean did roll his eyes. Captain Obvious strikes again. But he merely dialled the number and put it on speaker, setting the phone on the table in front of them so they could all listen.

"Dean," Crowley answered. "What a not-so-pleasant surprise. Good to see you got your phone back. I would've helped you look, but I was slightly occupied at the time."

Crowley sounded entirely too happy, and Castiel was seething. He was also apprehensive. If things were going well for Crowley, that could only mean that things were going badly for Bobby, and for Heaven. Unless he was just screwing with them, of course. With Crowley, you were never quite sure.

Crowley was indeed happy, but he also was screwing with them. He could hear that he was on Speaker, and that could only mean that there were Angel ears tuning in to their conversation. So he proceeded with the lies, as arranged with Xavier.

"Where's Bobby?" Dean asked bluntly.

"How should I know?" Crowley asked coyly. If he answered too quickly, without their usual song and dance, the Winchesters would know something was up.

"When we last saw him, he was with you," Sam said. "What happened to him?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened to him'?" Crowley retorted. "You're hurting my feelings, Moose." He hadn't used his nicknames for the brothers in quite a while. Crowley had wondered if his strange quasi-affection for the brothers was impeding his judgment from time to time, and so he'd stopped himself from using the nicknames he had bestowed on them. But he didn't see the harm now. Everything was going his way.

"Cut the crap, Crowley," Dean snapped. God, he was tired of this guy.

"All right, I will," Crowley replied cheerfully. "Nothing 'happened' to Bobby. We had a drink, we had a chat, we might have slow-danced a little, and then Bobby went back up to Heaven. Then I found out that he had been impeached. Too bad. I don't know what they're looking for in that position, but it seems that Heaven's standards are impossibly high. I fear your good friend Castiel won't measure up. Well, I guess we'll find out soon. His tribunal starts tomorrow morning. Though with his illustrious career, I imagine the proceeding will last at least a few days. I wouldn't plan the party celebrating his promotion if I were you, though. I think a cake with a file in it might be more appropriate in this situation. Or hopefully, a tombstone."

Gail shivered at that, and Cas slipped his arm around her. She managed to stay quiet, but just barely. That smug, self-satisfied bastard, she thought. How dare he sit there and joke about a possible death sentence for Castiel while he himself had the nerve to still be living? Crowley was lucky he wasn't sitting here right now. She'd happily take her Angel blade and chop off his head, just like she'd done to his mother. See if he laughed then.

As if knowing she was there and what she was thinking, Crowley continued, "Actually, you may want to make that two cakes, or two headstones. Word is that my ex-girlfriend is in Heaven's doghouse as well. Xavier will be charging her with morals violations. Regrettably, I don't think those carry the death penalty, but you can probably write to her in Heaven's prison. She'll be lonely after Castiel receives his death sentence. And I don't think Xavier is big on the appeals process. Pity, if I'd known Gail was such a loose woman I might have kept her around a while longer."

Castiel couldn't take it any more. He lunged for Dean's phone and hurled it against the wall, breaking it to bits.

He stood there, breathing heavily, his pulse pounding in his ears. Then Gail's voice, behind him: "Sorry, Dean, I guess we owe you an upgrade."

Dean laughed, breaking the tension in the room. Gail came up behind Cas and put her arms around him. His body was shaking from the adrenaline his rage had produced, and he was grateful for her attempt to calm him. But it would be quite a while before he was able to turn around and take her in his arms. The way he felt, Castiel was afraid he'd squeeze her too hard.

"Promise me something, Dean," Castiel said quietly. "You too, Sam."

Both brothers sat still, saying nothing. Crowley's audacity had left them speechless. That little bastard. Then Dean said, "What?"

"Promise me you'll torture him a good long time before you kill him," Castiel said, still using his quiet voice.

Dean smiled, but there was no humour in that smile, none at all. "We promise."

Crowley looked down at his cell phone and his smile grew wider. He hadn't enjoyed himself this much in a long time. He'd heard the smashing sound before the disconnect and knew what had happened. A certain male Angel had lost his marbles. But of course, that had been by design.

Crowley and Xavier had gone over the gist of what Crowley was going to report beforehand. It was only a matter of time before he heard from the Winchesters, Crowley had reasoned to Xavier. Bobby had been gone from Heaven for a week now, and his disappearance and Radio silence would have become suspicious. Since Crowley would have been the last one they knew of to have seen Bobby, he figured Castiel would tell Dean to call Crowley. They'd waited until the eleventh hour, but the call had come. Xavier had needed Castiel to believe that Bobby had already been impeached so that he would show up for his tribunal tomorrow, and the process could begin. Bobby was well and truly gone now, so the fact that he had not technically been impeached was irrelevant, as far as Xavier was concerned. The important part was that Castiel now knew he had to be at the tribunal tomorrow morning, and Xavier knew he would bring along his little girlfriend, too. So Xavier would have them both. He had no particular quarrel with the Angel Gail, he had never even met her, but Xavier knew how much she meant to Castiel, and that was reason enough.

Crowley had no problem relaying this information to Dean, knowing that the Angels would be listening in. Maybe after the tribunal was over, he would tell the Winchesters where Bobby really was, just to see the looks on their faces. There would be nothing they could do about it anyway, and Castiel would be gone. Gail, as well. Why should Crowley even bother to kill Sam and Dean? Their two Angel friends would be lost to them, and Bobby might as well be. By the time Lucifer got done with him, Bobby would be well and truly insane.

But after divulging the necessary information, Crowley had to admit he had gone off book a little. OK, maybe a lot. Part of this had been by design. He'd wanted to unhinge the four of them. The object was to get Castiel to tomorrow's tribunal and let the fireworks begin, and that was all that was necessary. But Crowley knew the four of them very well by now, and it wouldn't do to give any one of them a chance to reason this out. If Bobby had gone back to Heaven and was subsequently impeached, where was he now, and why was he unreachable? If any of the four pulled at this thread, the whole thing might unravel. So Crowley had wanted to upset them so badly that their human emotions would take over and cloud their minds, at least long enough for the tribunal to start, and then it would be too late. He had poured it on thick, picturing the looks on all their faces. And Crowley had saved that zinger about Gail for the last, knowing how much it would enrage Castiel. Hopefully he'd have the chance to buy Dean a new phone before Heaven put him to death, Crowley thought, smirking.

Once Castiel had calmed down enough to think clearly again, he said to Sam and Dean, "So there it is. Just as we'd feared." He took Gail's hand and drew her to him. "We'll have to get back on the road. Luckily, we had a head start. If the car's still there, we'll just resume from where we were."

"Where are you going?" Dean asked him, but Cas was shaking his head.

"We can't tell you that, Dean," Cas said. "And before you get angry again, it's because it's best if you not know anything about our whereabouts. The Angels that will be looking for you are bounty hunters, and they're trained to get answers, however necessary."

"Bounty hunters?" Sam said. "Heaven has bounty hunters?"

"Yes." Cas sighed. "But they haven't been used in years. God did not approve of those methods. But I'm sure Xavier will. The Team Leader is an Angel named Jason, who is a longer-serving Angel who just happens to be a very good friend of Xavier's. Jason is relentless. I should know. I used his services a couple of times in the past, when God was gone. I regret that now. God was right; such strong-arm tactics should not be used in Heaven."

"What do you mean, strong-arm tactics?" Dean asked.

Castiel looked at him. "Torture, Dean. I mean torture."

Gail coupldn't believe it. "Angels who torture people to get information? What the hell? Are we the good guys or the bad guys?" she said to Cas.

He smiled grimly. "Hard to tell sometimes, isn't it?" Castiel now felt terrible that he had availed himself of Jason's services in the past. Castiel had known full well the methods Jason and his team used to get information, but he had looked the other way during the Angel war. One of his many past transgressions, which were now coming back to haunt him in the form of the tribunal. Or would be, if he had any intention of showing up for it.

"So what are Sam and Dean supposed to do?" Gail pleaded with Cas. She was terrified to think of them being tortured for information on her and Cas's whereabouts.

"If we don't know where you are, we can't tell them anything," Sam stated.

Castiel laughed humourlessly. "Do you think that will stop him from trying, Sam?"

Sam frowned, then looked at Dean. They understood what Cas was saying. They were pretty much screwed.

Cas was agitated. He'd once told Gail that being associated with him could be dangerous, and here was the proof. "I'm sorry," he told the Winchesters. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

Dean felt for him. "It's not your fault, Cas."

"Damn Angels," Gail quipped, and the three men laughed. But a pall still hung over the room. What a mess, she thought. But then, what else was new? This time, though, they'd have to get through it separately. She'd been trying to bring a little levity into the situation, but now Gail was starting to feel very sad. They may not be able to see Sam and Dean for quite a while.

"Maybe we should hit the road, Sammy, work some cases," Dean said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "If we move from town to town, we'll be harder to find."

"What about you guys, though?" Dean asked Cas and Gail. "Don't Angels have that hoodoo thing where you can sense each other?"

"We already took care of that," Gail told him. She lifted up her top enough to show him the tattoo on her stomach. She winced inwardly, remembering the pain she'd felt at the time. Gail was glad they'd gotten them now, though. Especially with Angels like Jason out there looking for them.

"What's that?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's a warding symbol," Cas answered. "We both have them. They shield us from other Angels."

"When did you get those?" Sam asked him.

"As soon as we left the apartment," Cas replied.

The brothers were impressed. Cas didn't screw around. Gail was in good hands.

Castiel looked at Gail then. "We'd better get going," he said. "I'd like to get a bit more north before we officially become fugitives tomorrow morning."

Sam looked up sharply, but Cas was looking at Gail and Sam realized he probably just slipped. So they were going north. Not much to go on.

Gail approached Dean and he gave her a big hug. "Take care of yourselves," Dean said to her, and he raised his eyes to Cas, who nodded in acknowedgement.

"You too, Dean," Gail said, squeezing him tightly. Her eyes were starting to tear up. She and Cas had been separated from the brothers before, but this felt different. Until and unless they figured out a way to get Castiel off the hook, they might not be able to see the Winchesters for a long time.

Dean pulled out of the hug and looked down at Gail's face. He could see that she was about to cry and he tried to come up with a quip or a smartass comment to make her feel better, but nothing came. A lump was starting to form in his throat as he looked at her and Cas, and Dean felt like this was different, too. What a screwed-up situation.

Gail didn't want to let go of Dean, but she made herself do it. Then she walked over to Sam and the process was repeated. "You call me if you need us," Sam said softly. "At least I still have a cell phone." He'd gotten a new one since the night he and Dean had been taken to Hell. Gail laughed against his chest, sniffling back the tears. "Thanks for that, Sam."

Sam looked at Cas then. "You make sure you take care of her," he said to Cas. Sam had a lump in his throat too, and his eyes stung. He and Gail had bonded from the very beginning, and Sam felt very protective of her.

"I will, Sam," Cas assured him. "You know I will."

Sam nodded. Of course he knew that; he'd just had to say it anyway. He was dangerously close to shedding a couple of tears himself.

Dean shook Cas's hand, then pulled him in for a hug. Gail could see that they were getting emotional too, and she didn't think she could bear to see that or she'd fall apart.

So Gail pulled out of Sam's hug and rushed over to Cas. "Let's go, before I change my mind and just decide to take my prison term," she said with a tremulous smile.

Castiel knew how hard this was for Gail; she'd lost her brother Frank to Hell, as he'd so indelicately reminded her earlier, and now she felt as if she was losing two other brothers in Sam and Dean. And he had to admit he felt the same way. The Winchesters had felt like his own brothers for years now. And once again, they had proven to be more like family to him than his supposed Bretheren in Heaven, who were even now gathering the wood to burn him at the stake. He feared it would be a long time before he saw Dean and Sam again.

Not wanting to prolong their painful goodbyes any further, Cas picked up the bags in one hand, took Gail's hand with the other, and winked them both out of the bunker.

They reappeared by the rental car, which was still parked on the side of the road where they'd left it. Castiel put their bags in the trunk and they got in. Once they were back on the highway, Cas noticed that Gail was looking out the window with tears rolling down her cheeks, so he turned on the radio, hoping the music would cheer her. But Gail turned to the radio and pushed the button again, switching it off.

"I'm sorry, Cas, I just need to feel sad for a bit," she said to him.

He stared at her for a moment. What a strange thing to say, Castiel thought. Stranger still that he completely understood.

Sam and Dean sat down heavily in their chairs at the table once their Angel friends had left. Each was lost in his own thoughts for a few minutes. What a mess. They didn't know when they'd see Cas and Gail again, and they knew there was nothing they could do to help them. This was Heaven's business, and as humans they had no say in what went on there.

Dean was frustrated. Where was Bobby, and why wasn't he doing anything about it? So he'd been impeached as God; he was still an Angel, wasn't he? The Bobby that Dean knew should be raising a stink, kicking Xavier's ass. Why the sudden silence? Cas had sent up flares and Bobby was just ignoring them. It was uncharacteristic of him, and that bothered Dean.

Sam was thinking the same things about Bobby, and he was still wondering how the hell this guy Xavier could just railroad Cas like that. Here on Earth there was such a thing as due process. But apparently, they didn't believe in such things in Heaven, or at least Xavier didn't; and if he was the temporary God, Sam guessed he could do pretty much whatever he wanted.

Dean looked at his brother and said, "Well, I guess we'd better bug out, then."

Sam didn't mind going back out on the road; it was what they did, after all. What he did mind were the circumstances. Why the hell should they have to clear out of their home and go on the run? In a sense, it was like they would be fugitives, too. But they couldn't just stay holed up here, either. Sooner or later, they would have to leave the protections of the bunker, and once it was evident that Cas wasn't going to show up for the tribunal tomorrow, he was sure Xavier wouldn't waste any time sending Jason after him and Dean, looking for information on Cas. They would just have to stay one step ahead until he could figure out a solution. There must be one; Sam would just have to think of it.

Xavier was in his office, arranging his paperwork and his thoughts in anticipation of the tribunal in the morning.

Crowley had advised Xavier that the message had been delivered, and he had told Xavier about Castiel's violent reaction, though Crowley did not specify what exactly had set him off. That mattered little to Xavier. It could have been any number of things. Castiel was a dangerous psychopath, and Heaven should be grateful to Xavier for his dedication in ridding them all of Castiel.

He looked forward to watching Castiel squirm as his crimes and sins were brought out into the spotlight for all Angels to see. Xavier knew that quite a few Angels still regarded Castiel as a hero. What a joke. They'd find out the truth very soon.

Xavier was as prepared as he was ever going to be. It was just as well that Angels didn't sleep; he would have been too excited to do so, anyway. He was on the verge of achieving his dream, and nothing and no one was going to stop him now.

2 - ANY GRAVEN IMAGE

Xavier wasn't the only excited Angel in Heaven as the day of Castiel's tribunal dawned.

Aurielle had been so restless she was in the office before anyone else that morning. She let herself into Xavier's office with the key he had given her, and started to collate the papers he had laid out on his desk in preparation for today's hearing. There were 6 sets, one for each Upper Echelon board member and one for Xavier himself, of course. There were a lot of charges against Castiel, so there were a lot of pages to the document. It looked like the proceeding would last at least a week with everything Xavier planned to present.

When Aurielle had overheard Patricia and Laurel talking about the scheduled tribunal a few days ago, she had first and foremost been excited about the prospect of Castiel being here in Heaven, and of him being the focus of all of this attention. She had no idea what Xavier was planning to do to him; it sounded from the womens' conversation that the tribunal was simply a formality, a proceeding that needed to be held before Castiel could be promoted to the High Office. Bobby had apparently abdicated, from what she could gather. Aurielle was a little puzzled by that, but it didn't matter to her. Bobby had been the one to bring her back to Heaven and she supposed she should be grateful to him for that. But the main thing now was that Castiel was one step removed from becoming the new God, and that would mean she could see him all the time. He would have to give up his assignment on Earth and his association with those lowly humans. Xavier and Aurielle might have been diametrically opposed in their feelings towards Castiel, but this was one thing they agreed on: humans were beneath Angels, and they were a bad influence. Look at what had apparently gone on in Las Vegas. The Winchesters had brought Castiel there, leading him to temptation. And based on what Becky told her she'd seen, Aurielle believed that the Angel Gail had aided and abetted the brothers, even going so far as casting a spell on him in an effort to make him succumb to the pleasures of the flesh with her. Had he? No one knew. But Aurielle was going to find out. She had to get into the tribunal somehow.

Then, the lucky break: Xavier had asked Patricia to assign him an assistant for the duration of the tribunal. Every syllable needed to be recorded for posterity, and though Xavier and the board members would be free to take notes, Xavier needed an Angel who could put all the testimony together in one cohesive package.

So Patricia had come into the cubicle where Aurielle was diligently working as always, and her supervisor had asked Aurielle if she would accept this special assignment. Aurielle was the best worker she had, and she had demonstrated a keen aptitude for computers, but could still work with quill pens and scrolls if required. Patricia wasn't sure which skill would be needed for the job; Xavier seemed very suspicious of computers, but Patricia still believed the Old Guard would be accepting of them in time. But Aurielle was skilled in both the modern and the ancient methods, and Patricia had wanted to reward her charge by offering her this assignment. Maybe Aurielle would be recognized by the board if she did her usual diligent job, and maybe a promotion for her would be something to consider when it was over.

Patricia had taken Aurielle to meet Xavier then, and Xavier had accepted Aurielle's help with all of the paperwork. Recognizing the type of Angel Xavier was, Aurielle had been properly deferential to him, and after the day's work was over, Xavier had trusted her enough to give her a spare key to his office when she'd told him that she liked to come in early.

So here she was in Xavier's office, preparing that day's schedule. Finally, it was here. Aurielle had been dismayed when she'd taken a moment to read the content of the papers she was putting together. It looked like Xavier intended this to be much more than just a qualification hearing for the Office. Every aspect of Castiel's existence was scheduled to be put under a microscope and examined. He'd always been a mysterious, enigmatic Angel, and even though Aurielle was in love with him, she had to admit she didn't really know that much about him. She was looking forward to hearing more, much more. Especially about what, if anything, had happened in Las Vegas. Xavier hadn't expressed them as charges, exactly, but he had included a list of questions he intended to ask the Angel Gail about that weekend. And Aurielle very much wanted to see how that little tramp was going to justify herself. If she tried to lie her way out of it, Aurielle could suggest to Xavier that he call Becky as a witness. It would probably kill Aurielle to hear the sordid details, but she would just have to bear it. At least then, when she killed Gail, she would have a good reason. Or maybe she wouldn't need to. From what Aurielle could discern, and based on what the testimony would likely reveal, her rival might be thrown into prison for morals violations once Xavier was done. Aurielle smiled at that. Good. If she had corrupted Castiel, she deserved it.

But what of Castiel himself? From the way Xavier spoke about him, it was obvious he disliked Castiel intensely, didn't think he deserved to be sitting in the High Office. Aurielle couldn't imagine why not. She was sure that Xavier was just jealous. Once the testimony started, he and the board would have no choice but to accept that Castiel was the most qualified Angel for the job. And once he was God, and rid of the humans and Gail, Aurielle would find a way to help Castiel and be near him. She would be sweet and attentive, and would literally do anything he asked of her. Aurielle was convinced that she could worm her way into his life and then his heart if she was only given a chance. She had to believe that; her love for him was the only thing that kept her going. And Lord help anyone who tried to stand in her way.

Becky hadn't seen much of Aurielle for the past few days, and she missed her friend's company. Things were pretty boring here since she'd left. Becky missed their daily girl talk and gossip sessions.

Aurielle had been careful not to divulge the extent of her obsession with Castiel to Becky. She knew the girl was way too chatty to be trusted with that sort of information. She'd probably run off and tell her new boyfriend Kevin all about it, and then it would just be a matter of time before it got around. But in order to placate Becky, who was actually a bit more sharp in this area than Aurielle would have given her credit for, Aurielle had finally confessed to Becky that she actually did have a slight crush on Castiel. How could you not? He was so handsome, and so heroic. And look at the way he doted on Gail. What woman wouldn't want that for herself? And Becky had understood. Really, Aurielle was no different than the Cas Girls Becky had met on Earth at the convention. Becky thought it was kind of sweet, and she could definitely relate.

Becky and Kevin were dating now. Angels didn't actually date, per se, but they were seeing a lot of each other, and Becky let Kevin hold her hand from time to time. Becky didn't see the harm in that; it's not like she was cheating on Sam, or anything. Angels didn't do any more than that, anyway. And Becky was glad of that. She still remembered Chuck trying to instigate a physical relationship with her when they were both humans, and Becky was glad that Kevin couldn't put that kind of pressure on her. Not that she would have, even if Kevin were able to suggest such a thing. Becky was still saving herself for Sam.

But Becky did like Kevin, actually. She had just been dating Chuck to get to Sam, but she did like Kevin as a person. Or an Angel, or whatever. He was cute and funny, and he was really nice to her. But if she was honest with herself, the main attraction of seeing Kevin was that he was friends with Sam, or had been. She encouraged Kevin to tell her stories about his time on Earth, especially his time with the Winchesters. Becky thought it had been really heroic of Sam to protect Kevin the way he had, and tragic that Kevin had been murdered while Sam had been away. Kevin still had not told her that it had been Sam himself, or at least his body, that had killed Kevin. He wasn't sure exactly why, something just told him not to confide the circumstances of his death to her. And Prophets tended to listen to their intuitions. But Kevin liked Becky, too. He thought she was cute, and she thought he was interesting. His only regret was that they could not do more than hold hands. Kevin had been robbed of that aspect of his young life by his premature death, and he would have liked to have experienced it at least once before coming to Heaven. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

Becky was hoping she'd be able to get away to see Castiel's tribunal for a bit. Apparently, it was going to be open to the public as per Xavier's orders. Room for spectators was limited though, and Becky was sure there would be lots of female Angels lined up early to get in. Aurielle wasn't the only Cas Girl in Heaven. Becky smiled. Maybe she'd just see Gail when she got here. Becky knew Gail would come with Castiel; she'd never seen a closer couple. Gail would be able to get her in, she was sure.

Or Kevin, if he was going to be there. Becky would have to pop into his office this morning and ask him. She couldn't imagine him not wanting to go. Besides knowing the Winchesters, Kevin had also known Castiel on Earth. Maybe Kevin would even be asked to testify. He could talk about all the good things Castiel had done there. Becky thought it was neat that Castiel was going to get to be God. Like everyone else, Becky wondered what had happened to Bobby, though. She had really liked him. He had been so kind to her, and he had given her another chance, kept her out of Hell. She felt bad that he'd just left. He'd been a good God. But Castiel would be a good one too, Becky was sure. Did that make Gail God's girlfriend? Becky wondered. She giggled. Imagine being Mrs. God.

Actually, that gave her an idea. Once Castiel was God, maybe Becky could cash in on her friendship with Gail and ask for a favour. Maybe Becky could get an assignment on Earth. There would probably be at least one opening coming up. If Castiel was up here being God, Gail would want to be with him, and that left the Winchesters two Angels short. Could Becky possibly fill one of those spots? She'd better be extra-nice to Gail when she saw her. Becky was sure all Gail would have to do was ask, and Castiel would send Becky down to help Sam and Dean. Yes, she'd still be an Angel, but Becky didn't care. She'd be with her beloved Sam, and she'd take him any way she could get him.

Both Aurielle and Becky were unaware of the implications of the upcoming tribunal. Or more accurately, Becky was. Aurielle was crazy now but she was not stupid. Unlike Becky, Aurielle had seen the documents and she knew Xavier's attitude towards her beloved. But Aurielle was seriously delusional, and she had fooled herself into thinking that Gail would suffer consequences but Castiel would not.

For her part, Becky was just too clueless to get it. Becky saw the world as she wanted to see it, and if there were any unpleasant facts she didn't want to face, she usually just swept them under the rug.

As Xavier and the board members filed into the hearing room, both Aurielle and Becky were there. Becky waved to Aurielle as she and Kevin took their seats in the gallery. As Becky had thought, Kevin was very interested in this proceeding. Kevin also thought Bobby's disappearance was very strange, and it bothered him. He'd liked having Bobby as a boss and had gotten the feeling they'd work very well together. But suddenly, here everyone was at the hearing that would determine if Castiel was to be the new God. Kevin had known Castiel in life and though he'd been a bit strict when it came to the Tablets, Kevin thought he'd be OK, too. Like Bobby, Castiel was a friend to the Winchesters, maybe their best friend. That gave Kevin hope that Castiel would be a good boss.

Aurielle was sitting next to Xavier at one of the two tables at the front of the room. She had her quill and scroll papers all ready to go, and she kept sneaking glances back at the entryway doors, expecting to see Castiel walk through them any minute. Though she guessed he could just pop in. The other table at the front of the room that was opposite her was where he was supposed to take his seat, which meant that she'd be that close to him. She was sure that he'd have Gail by his side; there was another chair at the empty table. If Xavier allowed them to sit together, Aurielle supposed she'd be forced to look at Gail, too. But that wouldn't last long. Let her enjoy her last moments with Castiel. Soon Gail would be in prison, and Castiel would be God. And if for some reason Gail managed to stay out if prison, Aurielle had a more permanent punishment in mind for her.

Xavier sat impatiently, fidgeting. If he'd worn a watch, he would have been checking it. Castiel was now late, Xavier was sure of it. The sheer audacity. Xavier turned around in his seat and glared at the doors. He'd made sure to have the invisible sigils painted on the walls of the hearing room, so he knew that was the only way that Castiel could enter. Xavier wanted to make sure that once Castiel was here, he could not just leave. And once the testimony started and Xavier got Gail on the stand, he'd wanted to make sure that Castiel had no powers to use. Xavier knew his examination of Gail would enrage Castiel, and he was taking no chances.

But where was he? The hearing was supposed to have started by now, and the crowd in the gallery had started to buzz. Several more minutes elapsed, and then all of the Angels in the room were looking at each other, confused. Where was Castiel? Was he not coming? It was unimaginable. How could you not show up for the hearing which determined whether you would get to be God? What could possibly be more important?

At the moment, Gail was more important. Well, truthfully, she was more important to him now than anything else, anyway.

They were in Idaho now, still heading north towards Canada. Morning had come and gone, and as they continued driving, they both knew that they were now officially fugitives.

Gail was nervous and fidgety. What had they done? Now there was no going back, and bounty hunters would be looking for them, and for the Winchesters. If they weren't already. Yes, they had their warding tattoos, but was that really going to be enough? What kind of methods did these guys have to track people down, anyway? Gail knew that Bobby had introduced computers to Heaven before he'd been impeached, and computers were everywhere. She'd seen enough movies to know that it was almost impossible to go off the grid these days. Even if you did have Angel powers. They were still limited by Earth's standards of the norm. They couldn't go popping in and out of everywhere without calling attention to themselves. And the thought suddenly dawned on her: they couldn't leave a paper trail.

She grabbed her purse and dug into it. She still had the remainder of Cas's poker winnings in there. Luckily she'd had the presence of mind to grab the money as they'd been leaving their apartment back home. They'd spent some on their tattoos, and to rent this car, and on motels, and there was gas money too, of course. How much was left? Though they did not need to eat, and did not need to buy a lot of things that humans needed to maintain themselves, it was inevitable that the money would eventually be gone if they had to stay away indefinitely. And they could not chance accessing their bank account.

Castiel saw Gail fidgeting and digging into her purse. "What's the matter?" he asked her.

She told him what she'd been thinking, and Cas now thought about it too. He knew that she was right about what she called the "paper trail", and he praised Gail for having thought about it. He knew how things worked in Heaven better than she did, but Gail had the benefit of having lived on the road on Earth, and she had what she called her "street smarts". He'd also been thinking about the bounty hunters of course, but Castiel thought that he and Gail might be OK if they applied their combined skills to the situation.

"How much do we have left?" he asked her.

"Enough for now," she replied, putting the money back into her purse. "But when we get to Canada, we might have to get jobs."

Jobs? Castiel thought, bemused. He'd never even thought about anything like that before. What kind of job on Earth would an Angel qualify for?

He asked her that, and Gail's mouth twitched. He was heartened to see that; it was the first time he'd seen even a ghost of a smile on her face since they'd left the bunker.

"Do they still have Dial-a-Prayer?" Castiel asked her, and Gail did break into a smile then. They went back and forth about the types of jobs Cas could get, and the kinds he'd definitely want to avoid, and he was happy to be bantering back and forth with her so easily. She had been so distant since they'd said goodbye to Sam and Dean. Even when he'd held her last night, as they always did now, he'd felt her detachment and the lack of connection. He understood that she missed Sam and Dean and was worried about them and he felt the same way, but he and Gail were now each others' sole source of emotional support, and they needed each other.

But Gail knew that, of course. Even as she and Cas were joking back and forth, she could see the happiness and relief on his face and she felt badly about the way she'd been acting towards him. Or more accurately, not acting towards him. She'd checked out emotionally ever since she and Castiel left Sam and Dean at the bunker, and though she couldn't help the way she felt, Gail knew that it wasn't fair to Castiel. When he'd held her last night and talked softly to her, she had said nothing in return, just laid there, brooding. She had been selfish.

So she reached over and touched his face now. "I really love you, you know that?" Gail said to him. "I'm sorry I haven't said that in a while."

He glanced at her, surprised, then drove the car to the shoulder of the highway and shut off the engine. Then Cas took off his seat belt and reached for her. Gail took her seat belt off too and moved into his embrace.

"I know that, Gail," he said gently, "and I love you, too. I know you've been sad, and I understand. I'm sad about them, too."

They held each other for a while, giving and receiving comfort, and Gail had to admit this was way better than brooding and pouting.

She looked at him and said, "I won't check out on you any more, I promise. Thanks for being so patient with me."

As if he could be any other way. Especially when she was looking at him like that. Like he had the moon and the stars in his hands. He wished he did. He'd give them to her, along with a happy and safe future. But he had none of those things to offer her. Yet she was here with him. For a fugitive on the run from a death sentence facing an unknown future in a strange country, he was the luckiest guy in the world.

Bobby was sitting in one corner of the cage, irritable.

Lucifer had been at him pretty much the whole time he'd been here, but so far Bobby was standing firm. He'd always been a stubborn cuss, and he was determined not to let his cellmate get to him while he tried to figure out a way out of here.

After several days of trying every which way, Bobby had given up on using his powers to try to escape from the cage. Godlike powers obviously didn't cut it here, as Lucifer had said. But Bobby had still had to try. Demons were notorious liars, and Lucifer was the worst Demon there was. Bobby would sooner have had that slow dance with Crowley that Crowley had joked about than be stuck here with Lucifer. And if it was true, and Bobby now suspected that it was, that only God Himself could open this cage, then Bobby was screwed.

But it wasn't in Bobby's nature to give up. He tried to reason it out. Sooner or later, they would realize in Heaven that he had gone missing. Sam and Dean knew where he was, and they would tell Cas. Which was all well and good, but then what? They only knew that he had gone into Hell with Crowley and Metatron on the hostage exchange, but not about where he was now. Crowley and Metatron had sure gotten the jump on him, though; he should have been more vigilant.

But the boys couldn't do anything for him. Even if they gathered all the weaponry they had to storm an assault, humans could not just march into Hell. Not alive, anyway. At first, Bobby had been afraid that they would try some dumb-ass stunt like a crossroads deal for him, but if they were going to do that, theyd've done it by now. Not that it would have done any good.

Could Cas help him? That was a little more likely. Cas had talked about storming into Hell to take care of Metatron and Crowley a while back and Bobby had shot him down, told him to get a grip. Irony was a bitch, wasn't it? Of course, Cas hadn't been talking about a rescue operation then, just revenge. He'd mentioned breaking Gail's brother Frank out, though. Could he be planning to do the same for Bobby?

A small spark of hope at this idea flared up in Bobby, but then he looked over at Lucifer and it was promptly extinguished. Even if Cas stormed in here with an army of Angels behind him, it would make no difference. If Bobby bought into the premise that only God could open this cage, the operation was doomed to fail. And he was afraid he did buy it. Bobby was supposed to be God now and he couldn't get out, so what chance did Cas have? Bobby hoped he wouldn't try it. He didn't want the deaths of countless Angels on his conscience, and that was what it would take to even get to him.

He wondered who was running Heaven now. Not that it really mattered to him at the moment, he supposed. Bobby smiled grimly. Xavier and the board had gotten their wish after all; maybe not in the way that they had expected, but they had gotten it. Bobby had left the building. Would Cas take the job after all? Bobby could just imagine how Xavier would like that. He had no idea how these things worked up there. Bobby had gotten the job directly from God after Cas had turned it down. Now that God was retired and the reigning God was out of commission, who would take over and how was that decided?

But, bottom line, that wasn't his concern now. He just had to work through this situation in his mind, like puzzling out a case. There had to be something he could do, something he could figure out. He reviewed all the lore he could think of, but there was nothing there to help him. He couldn't even think of anything from the Bible that would apply to this situation. Everyone knew that Lucifer had been one of God's Original Angels. He had been dissatisfied with merely being an Angel and had wanted the power and the glory of being God for himself. So God had cast him down to Hell for the ultimate time-out and had constructed this cage to make sure he would stay there. But that was it. That was all Bobby knew.

Lucifer had been haranguing Bobby ever since he'd gotten here, but now he was mercifully keeping silent for a change. Bobby wasn't fooled, though. He stole a glance at his cellmate and saw that Lucifer was staring at him and smiling. Bobby could just see the wheels turning.

The wheels were turning in Lucifer's head, all right. He'd actually developed a grudging sort of respect for Bobby. Though his residency here had been brief so far, Bobby was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Many other men would have lost their minds by now, succumbing to Lucifer's constant diatribes. He had kept up a running commentary pretty much since the moment Bobby got here and received very little reaction in return. Lucifer frowned. Young Sam Winchester had been relatively easy to break. Sam had a fine, intelligent mind, but his sensitivity had made him vulnerable. By the time Lucifer had gotten through with him, Sam had returned to Earth a schizophrenic with paranoid tendencies. Lucifer had gotten into his head and was tormenting him from within. That had been the most entertainment Lucifer had had in ages. But then Castiel had to come along and spoil it by building that damned wall, denying Lucifer access. Then, the brief spurt when Castiel had inexplicably broken down the wall again and Sam had gone to the asylum. Lucifer was with him again then, and he was happily soaking up all the crazy in Sam and the others who were held there, and things were fun again for a short time. But then along came Castiel again, taking the madness from Sam's mind and absorbing it into his own, and Lucifer had had to leave. He could only dance with the one he'd brought, and once Sam was sane again, Lucifer was stuck back in this cage with nothing to do but rot.

But Bobby's arrival meant another chance for him to play, and Lucifer meant to take full advantage of it. So Bobby hadn't cracked yet; it was only a matter of time, and time was all they had now.

Xavier was enraged. Once he and everyone else in the hearing room realized that Castiel wasn't going to show, Xavier had had to stand up and make the announcement that the proceeding was "adjourned".

The spectators filed out of the room, talking amongst themselves. What was going on? What was going to happen now? Xavier had said the hearing was adjourned; that just meant delayed, didn't it? Maybe there was a good reason Castiel couldn't show up today. Maybe he'd communicated that to Xavier.

Kevin walked Becky back to her cubicle, then went back to his own office. He was perhaps the only Angel who hadn't been particularly surprised by Cas's no-show. Even though Heaven technically had no boss at the moment, Kevin had been hard at work, and the prophecies were once again flowing from his fingertips. Early this morning he had sat down and thought about the tribunal, and his fingers itched but he was not yet at his computer, so he'd grabbed a quill and a piece of paper and had scrawled down one word on it: "Canada". What? He looked at it, puzzled. What did that mean? Then another inexplicable urge had come over him and he snatched up the paper and tore it into tiny pieces, burying it in the garbage.

He thought about that when he returned to his office after the aborted hearing, and Kevin turned on his computer out of reflex as he was thinking. What was significant about Canada, and why were his instincts telling him it had something to do with what had happened this morning? Or, more accurately, what hadn't happened. When Kevin had taken his seat in the gallery, he had noticed that the hearing room was arranged just like all the courtrooms he had ever seen on TV, complete with a witness stand. It had almost looked like the setting for a trial.

Kevin had looked at Xavier and had seen the expression on Xavier's face change from one of anticipation, to impatience, then annoyance, and finally, anger. Kevin hadn't been able to look away. There was something off about this guy. The more Kevin looked at him, the weirder Kevin started to feel. Then he looked at the other table, the vacant one. There were two seats there, one presumably for Castiel, and the other? On Earth, it would be for a lawyer, or a co-defendant. But this was Heaven, and this was supposed to be a tribunal, only a hearing to determine Castiel's fitness for the position of God. Then why did it look so much like a trial, and why did Xavier look so agitated? Rumour around Heaven was that Xavier aspired to the job himself. Yet here he was, about to run the show. Sounded pretty fishy to Kevin. Wasn't that conflict of interest, or something?

By the time it had become evident that Castiel wasn't going to show up, Kevin was beginning to think he understood. And now that he was back in his office with his computer on, he was getting the itch again. But as his mind keyed in on Cas, trying to see him, Kevin suddenly reached out and shut off his computer. Then he grabbed a quill and a sheaf of paper and began to write furiously. The vision became clearer. He could see Cas driving a car, Gail in the passenger seat, and a green road sign: "Welcome to Oregon". As Kevin wrote, he realized that he was seeing into the near future. They had obviously been on the road for a while. He knew they lived near Sam and Dean, and the bunker was in Kansas. The couple were headed north, and would soon be in Oregon. Were they headed for Canada? Now he knew why Cas hadn't shown up this morning. He'd obviously known that there was a lot more to this "tribunal" than Xavier was letting on to most of Heaven, and Cas had decided to take a pass on the whole thing. Kevin couldn't blame him. But was there a penalty for just skipping out like that? There had to be.

Then Kevin shut his eyes and concentrated, really concentrated, on Sam and Dean Winchester. He hadn't been able to write Word One about them, even before the Las Vegas incident. But he hadn't been able to write about Cas and Gail then, either. Even though things had turned out OK in the end, if he had seen Gail's death, he would have done anything he could to try to prevent it.

But he'd just seen Cas and Gail clearly, so he now tried to do the same with the Winchesters. Kevin had never written this way before. The prophecies had always just popped into his head. Whenever he'd tried to concentrate before, as he had when trying to forsee the Vegas events, Kevin's mind had always shut down, leaving him mentally blind and frustrated.

Today was different. Sam and Dean came into focus. They were walking to the Impala. It was night. Just before they got to it, a man stepped out of the shadows and put an Angel blade to Dean's throat. "Where are the Angels?" he said to the brothers. "Where are they?" the man growled again, then cut Dean's face with the blade, and Dean yelled.

Suddenly, Kevin's phone rang, breaking his trance. He looked down at the paper and saw that he had written down everything he'd seen, almost like automatic writing, something he'd read about but had always dismissed.

Damn it! What a time for the phone to ring!

He snatched up the receiver. "Hello?" he said, with a touch of impatience.

"Kevin Tran? The Prophet?" A man's voice.

"Yes," he said cautiously.

"We haven't met. My name's Jason. I'm the head of the Law Enforcement department. Xavier is here with me, and we'd like to talk to you."

Kevin froze. Law Enforcement department? What was that? He'd never heard of it, but it didn't sound good. And Xavier was with him? What could they want with Kevin?

"OK," Kevin said into the phone. Xavier was the highest-ranking Angel in Heaven right now, junior only to the guy who was currently on the run with his girlfriend, seemingly about to change his citizenship. What else could Kevin say?

"Can you come to my office now?" Jason said. It was voiced as a request, but Kevin knew it was really a demand. "I'm just around the corner from the Upper Echelon offices."

Of course he was. This was really starting to stink of conspiracy. Kevin may be young, but he had watched a lot of movies in his short life. But again, what choice did he have?

"I'll be right there," Kevin said, and hung up the phone.

He looked down at what he'd written. Holy crap. No one could see this, not until he figured out what was going on, and who the good guys and the bad guys were. Though he was already pretty sure he knew.

Kevin opened the bottom drawer of his desk and shoved the papers into the false bottom where he'd found Chuck's Vegas prophecies, and he locked the desk. Then, when he left his office, he locked that too, just for good measure.

Aurielle had been devastated when she realized Castiel wasn't going to come. What now? She could tell how angry Xavier was, though, so she put her own feelings on the back burner for the moment and trailed along behind him as he walked back to his office.

He threw the papers down on his desk and just stood there for a moment, as if at a loss as to what to do next. Aurielle stood uncertainly at his office door. She wasn't sure what to do, either. Should she leave him alone? Should she say something?

Xavier wheeled on her. "Prepare tomorrow's documents," he ordered Aurielle. Tomorrow? she thought. But they hadn't even had today, yet.

Xavier saw her hesitation and snapped, "Do it. Then, when you're finished, carry on with the rest. You'll find it all in my desk, waiting to be copied and collated. There will be a tribunal, and it will be very soon." He smiled then, and it was a nasty smile. Aurielle shivered involuntarily. She should have recognized that smile. It was the same kind of smile that appeared on her own face when Aurielle thought about killing Gail.

"I'll be back in a while," Xavier told her, and strode out of the office.

Aurielle stood there watching him leave, feeling a sense of foreboding. She'd kept herself in denial about Xavier's true motivations and intentions towards Castiel and about this tribunal, but she had to face it now. If Xavier had his way, it would be he who was God, not Castiel. And if Castiel was not God, would she ever get a chance to see him? Aurielle still could not let her mind accept the very real possibility that Castiel could end up going to jail, or worse. If that happened, she might as well die, too. No, that was not going to happen. She had been through too much to lose him now. Everything would be OK, it would work out all right if he would just come back to Heaven.

She walked into Xavier's office and picked up the papers he'd thrown there, rearranging them into order, then opened his desk drawer to get the other documents. Were these all there were? Thinking she might have missed some, Aurielle opened the bottom drawer of Xavier's desk. There were no documents there, just a book, and a very old book, by the looks of it. Curious, she picked it up and began to leaf through it.

Aurielle looked up at the open office door to make sure she was still alone. Maybe she should not be doing this. This was Xavier's desk, not hers, and this book was his business. But her curiousity had overwhelmed her. The brief glance she'd had was enough to make her want to have another look. It was a spell book of some sort. Then it dawned on her. Perhaps this was part of the proceeding. Maybe this was the evidence Xavier had intended to produce to prove that Gail had put a spell on Castiel in Las Vegas. Aurielle flipped through it and was convinced. Here was a spell for a love potion, and the notations said that it was a very powerful spell, guaranteed to work on any being.

Excited, her earlier foreboding gone, Aurielle put the book together with the documents and brought them out to her desk in the outer office. When Becky came by a few minutes later, asking if Aurielle could take a break, Aurielle was so elated that she smiled at Becky and said, "Why not? I've been working so hard, I deserve it." Then she laughed, and threw the pile of papers into her own desk drawer, and they left for the break room.

Kevin found Jason's office and knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," a voice said.

So Kevin opened the door and stood there in shock. The man that was sitting behind the desk was the very same one he had just seen in his vision, putting an Angel blade to Dean's throat! What the hell?

"Come in, Kevin," Xavier said. He was sitting in a chair across from Jason's desk. "Don't be shy, son." Xavier was trying on his benevolent, Godlike demeanour. These new Angels were so young. Xavier had misinterpreted Kevin's shock as intimidation, and he was glad to see that some of this new generation of Angels still had the proper respect for rank and length of service.

Jason rose from his chair and walked around his desk, offering his hand to Kevin to shake. He had also misinterpreted Kevin's hesitation to enter, and thought the hand-shaking ritual might put the young Prophet at ease. It was a human trait, one that would normally be beneath him, but Kevin had been a human not too long ago and Jason thought he might appreciate the gesture. Both he and Xavier thought that Kevin might be of good use to them; not only was he the One True Prophet now, but he had known Castiel and the Winchesters on Earth, had been their friend until his fairly recent admission into Heaven.

Kevin did not want to shake hands with this man. Yeah, he was a fellow Angel, and a high-ranking one by the looks of it; but he was the guy Kevin had seen put a blade to Dean's throat, and Kevin hated him on sight. And here was Xavier, who had given Kevin such an uneasy vibe in the hearing room. This was not going to be good.

But Kevin shook hands with Jason, who re-introduced himself, then invited Kevin to have a seat. Kevin sat in the chair next to Xavier and Jason retook his seat behind the desk.

Kevin was extremely nervous. Jason was looking at him calmly enough, but it was disconcerting to see him in this context when Kevin had just seen him in the very different context of threatening to cut one of Kevin's best friends. And he'd been demanding to know where "the Angels" were. Kevin may be young, but he wasn't stupid; he knew exactly who Jason had been talking about.

"We need your help, Kevin," Xavier said to him. "Heaven needs your help."

Crap. Here it came.

"As the Prophet, we thought you might be able to shed some light on the current situation," Jason said, a bit stiffly.

Kevin wasn't sure how to respond. Should be feign innocence and ask what Jason was referring to? Or should he already know? He settled for somewhere in the middle: "Are you talking about the tribunal?" he asked.

Xavier felt a flicker of annoyance. What the hell did he think they were talking about? As if there was anything else of any importance going on.

"Yes, we're talking about the tribunal," he said testily. "Castiel is now officially a fugitive from Heaven."

"And we need to know if there is anything you have seen that could assist us in his apprehension," Jason added.

Fugitive? Apprehension? OK, Kevin now knew that this was serious stuff. What was he supposed to do now?

"Look, Kevin," Jason said, his expression softening a bit. "We know that you knew Castiel on Earth. You might have even thought of him as your friend. But he's not who you think he is. He's a danger to Heaven and to all Angels, and he must be found."

Cas? A danger to Angels? Just what the hell were these guys trying to pull? No wonder the hearing room had been set up like a trial. They were trying to say that Cas was a criminal! Though technically, he might be now. If he was required to show up at today's hearing, Kevin guessed they could put out a warrant for him, or whatever they called it here in Heaven.

But he couldn't possibly tell them what he'd seen. There was something fishy about these guys, and the so-called "tribunal" had to be a lot more sinister than they were letting on to most of Heaven. There was no way Kevin could sell out Cas like that.

So he shook his head, trying to look as innocent as possible. "No, I haven't seen anything about him at all," Kevin told them both.

Damn! Xavier thought. He bought the innocent act.

But Jason sat back in his chair, regarding Kevin. He wasn't necessarily buying the innocent act. They knew that he and Castiel had been friendly with each other on Earth, and they were both Sam and Dean Winchester's buddies. Kevin may be an Angel now, but he still had the stink of humans on him, and Jason was suspicious of where Kevin's loyalties really lay. "Nothing at all, Kevin?" he said coolly.

Oh, boy. This guy was acting like he knew something, Kevin thought. But how could he? He was probably just trying to intimidate Kevin, make him blurt something out.

"No, nothing at all," Kevin said again. Then, since something more seemed to be needed, he added, "I haven't been able to see anything about any of my Earthly acquaintances since I got the promotion." Well, that had actually been the truth up until this morning. And Kevin had chosen his words very carefully. He'd been a boy genius as a human, and he was no fool now.

Xavier was now totally convinced that Kevin was telling the truth, and he was impressed that the young Angel had used the expression "Earthly acquaintances". To him, that spoke to Kevin's character. He hadn't called them "friends", and had made reference to them as "Earthly" beings. Xavier interpreted this to mean that Kevin knew his loyalties lay with Heaven.

"All right, Kevin," Xavier said to him. "You may go. But please be sure to let me know if you get anything, anything at all."

"Yes, Sir, I will," Kevin said to Xavier. He had already stood from his chair when Xavier said that he could go, and Kevin nodded at Jason on his way out of the office, but he said nothing further. He just wanted to get the hell out of there before they changed their minds.

Jason had allowed Kevin to leave his office without another word, deferring to Xavier's dismissal of the young Prophet. But once Kevin had gone, Jason turned to Xavier and asked him, "What makes you so sure he's telling the truth?"

Xavier wasn't sure exactly, he'd just been impressed both by Kevin's quiet respect for himself and Jason, and by Kevin's willingness to distance himself from Castiel and his human cohorts. He said this to Jason now.

Jason scoffed. "In my experience, both humans and Angels tend to lie if they think their friends will suffer consequences."

Xavier considered this for a moment. Jason did have a lot of expertise in those matters. "Do you think he was lying?" he asked Jason.

Jason frowned. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But I don't think we can rely on him. I'd like your approval to proceed with the computer check." He smirked when Xavier frowned at that. Jason and Xavier went way back, and Jason knew how much his old friend hated human technology. "I know how much you hate that stuff, but I happen to think computers are the only worthwhile thing the former God Bobby ever did here," Jason continued, smiling. "You'd be amazed what they can tell you about people and their whereabouts."

But Xavier was already nodding. He wanted to get the investigation going, and if those damnable computers would be helpful, he was willing to overlook his bias.

"Are you sure you don't want me to just bypass the investigation and go straight to the interrogation?" Jason asked pointedly. He was eager to skip right to the next phase. It had been years since Jason had gone out in the field, and he missed the powerful feeling of a good hands-on interrogation. Several years ago, before God had come back to Heaven and cancelled the program, Jason had been in his element. During the Angel war, Jason was given a free hand to interrogate as he saw fit, and his methods always produced results. Ironically, the Angel he was now hunting had been one of the ones to use Jason's services back then. Funny how things went sometimes. Jason had actually admired Castiel back then. He'd fought valiantly in the Angel war, and as Castiel rose up the ranks, he had sometimes employed questionable methods in his efforts to win the war. Methods like sending Jason out into the field to interrogate other Angels for intel. Jason would report back to Castiel, always with a veritable wealth of information. Castiel never asked how Jason obtained this information and Jason never volunteered to tell him, but they both knew.

But in the years following, Castiel had changed. Once he had received his assignment on Earth and began to associate with Sam and Dean Winchester, Castiel had succumbed to their influence and now was more human than Angel. He had even taken up with a female Angel, who up until recently had been a human herself. Castiel had turned his back on Heaven in favour of his human companions, and now he was flouting Heaven's laws by skipping out on his tribunal. Did he think that he could just do as he pleased, that because of their past association that Jason would now look the other way? Like Hell, Jason thought. Castiel disgusted him now, and Jason couldn't wait to bring him back to Heaven in shackles, with his little girlfriend traipsing behind him. Xavier had advised Jason that the Angel Gail would face charges at the hearing as well. So as far as Jason was concerned, both Angels were fugitives, and would be treated as such.

Xavier had been hoping that young Kevin would have some information for them, but since they had come up empty in that regard, he'd authorized Jason to proceed with the computer search for the Angels. He knew that Jason was eager to go straight to the Winchesters and force them to talk, and Xavier supposed that was what was going to end up happening. But Xavier had no desire to bring the humans into this if he could help it. This was Heaven's business.

He still couldn't believe that Castiel had had the sheer gall not to show up for the tribunal. Did he think he was special, exempt from Heaven's rules? Yes, Xavier was sure that was exactly what Castiel thought, but he had been summoned and he would come. One way or another. Xavier would have Jason do his computer search, but if it yielded no result, Xavier would have no choice but to let Jason off his leash. God help Castiel's humans then. Hunters or no, they would have no idea who they were dealing with.

Kevin sat in his desk chair, staring off into space. He was still shaking with fear from his meeting with Jason and Xavier. He knew this wasn't going to be the end of it. What should he do now? He had dynamite in his desk drawer, and in his head. Even now, he could see Cas and Gail in their car, and Sam and Dean in the Impala. Ever since those first visions, the floodgates had opened, and he knew where his friends were and what they were doing. Should he write it all down? He reached for the quill but then stopped. What if they searched his office? What if Jason called him again? He had the feeling that Jason hadn't quite bought the innocent act, but Xavier was the boss and Xavier had let Kevin go, at least for the time being.

Then Kevin thought of something. He had no way of warning Sam and Dean, but Cas was still an Angel, wasn't he? Kevin mentally kicked himself, and then he made the call.

Castiel and Gail had just crossed the border into Oregon. Gail was looking at him, and was growing increasingly concerned. Cas was looking tired and strained. She'd suggested a while back that he take a rest from driving for a while, but he had insisted on continuing.

Cas's head felt like it was going to split open. Ever since his tribunal had been adjourned, he had been receiving transmissions on Angel Radio. Not messages exactly, just Angel after Angel focusing on him and speaking his name. All of Heaven was speculating about him, and the static in his head had become overwhelming. He was trying to concentrate on the road, but the sensory input was becoming deafening. And he'd thought Las Vegas was bad. This was all inside his own head, and a couple of times he'd had to take one hand off the wheel and put it to his forehead, almost as if doing so could calm the sounds. This must be what humans felt when they suffered from migraines, he thought. He didn't know how much longer he could bear it.

Then, suddenly, a message from Kevin, coming in loud and clear through all the chatter. Kevin told him briefly about the visions he'd had concerning Cas and Gail and Sam and Dean. Kevin also advised Cas about the meeting in Jason's office. He warned Cas to be careful, and asked him to warn the Winchesters.

"What's wrong, Castiel?" Gail asked him. She'd seen him put his hand to his forehead and now noticed the alarmed look on his face.

Cas quickly sent a message back to Kevin, thanking him for the heads-up and asking Kevin for any further updates. Then he turned to Gail and told her about the message.

Gail was torn. On the one hand, she was happy to hear that they still had one ally left who gave enough of a damn about them to want to help. She'd been feeling increasingly frustrated and angry with Bobby. She'd thought he was their friend, but where was he when Cas and Dean and Sam needed him? She knew that Castiel had been sending out private messages to Bobby ever since they'd headed back out on the road, imploring him to answer, but there had been no response. Nothing. Like Dean, Gail thought that Bobby was the sort of man that would not have gone away quietly, even after he had been impeached. He was still an Angel; surely he must know what Xavier was trying to do to Cas. Yes, Bobby was no longer God, but still...you'd think he could at least return his friend's calls.

Maybe he'd been thrown into prison on some trumped-up charge, like they were trying to do to Castiel and to herself. Could he receive transmissions there? She'd broached the subject to Castiel when she'd thought of it, and he'd looked startled. That might very well be the case. If that was what had happened, it would certainly explain the Radio silence. Heaven's prison cells were encased in sigils, Cas explained to Gail, to render the inmates powerless for security reasons. And sigils also jammed the frequencies of Angel Radio.

But now, this message from Kevin. Gail was alarmed that Kevin could see exactly where she and Cas were, and seemed to know where they were heading. Thank God he was a friend. But what he'd seen concerning Sam and Dean scared her.

"We need to get to a phone," Gail said to Castiel, but he was already pulling off the highway.

They found a phone booth by a gas station and Castiel called Sam's cell phone. He'd memorized the number, of course.

"Hello?" Sam answered.

Castiel tilted the phone between himself and Gail, as he'd done before. He knew it would mean a lot to her to hear the brothers' voices.

"Hi, Sam!" Gail said. She was indeed happy to hear his voice, even though they'd only been apart a short time.

"Hello, Sam," Castiel said.

"Hi, guys!" Sam replied, pleased to hear from them. "What's up?"

So Cas told Sam about Kevin's visions, and Sam was alarmed, too.

"Kevin knows where the two of you are, and where you're going?" Sam said. Cas hadn't told Sam any specifics about this, of course, just that Kevin knew. Sam had checked the display on his phone when he'd first heard his friends' voices, but it just said "Unknown Number". Sam wasn't sure whether he was happy or disappointed by this. "And he wrote it down?" Sam continued. "He's gotta burn that paper!"

"Never mind about that, we're calling about what he saw about you and Dean," Gail said impatiently.

Sam asked, "Did he give any specifics about where or when that was supposed to happen?"

"No," Castiel replied shortly.

Gail let a breath out in frustration. So Kevin could see every detail about her and Cas, but nothing about Sam and Dean except that they were walking to the Impala and it was night? Well, that certainly narrowed it down, she thought sarcastically.

Suddenly, Dean's voice: "Sam put us on speaker. So this guy Jason had a blade to my throat and wants to know where you guys are? Not gonna happen."

Castiel was shaking his head. "Look, Dean, I know you don't put much stock in prophecies. But they're called that for a reason. They foretell the future. You and Sam need to be very careful. Please."

Dean was touched by his concern, but said, "Sammy and I can take care of ourselves. But thanks for the heads-up. How are you guys doing?"

"We're fine, Dean," Gail answered.

"Enjoying life on the road?" Dean said teasingly, knowing Gail would appreciate it.

"Yeah, I kind of am," she told him. Well, it was mostly true. "I'm even thinking we should stop by a roadside diner so I can order a cup of coffee and stare at it for a while."

Dean smiled. Gail sounded all right. Well, she sounded like herself, anyway.

"But you and Sam need to be very careful," Gail continued. "Please. Promise me, Dean." She pictured Kevin's vision in her head and her heart sank. Gail had no doubt that Jason would show up to threaten the brothers just as Kevin had foretold.

"We will, but we can handle it," Dean said.

"Maybe only park the car in the daytime," Cas quipped. Sam and Dean were amused, but Castiel had been looking at Gail when he said it. She looked so worried. Truth be told, so was he. Dean could talk as brave as he wanted to, but Castiel knew Jason, and he knew what Jason was capable of.

"Oh, and I have a new phone," Dean said to them. "Where can I send the bill for the old one?"

Cas and Gail laughed then. "Nice try, Dean," Cas said. "I'll have to owe you."

"Just buy us a couple of beers when you see us next," Dean said.

"Hopefully, that'll be soon," Sam chimed in. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

Cas smiled, but sadly this time. As smart as Sam was, Cas could see no way that was happening any time soon.

Dean gave them his cell number and Cas memorized it. Then he remembered to tell them about Gail's theory about Bobby being in Heaven's prison.

"That must be what's happened, then," Sam said. It sounded logical to him. Atta girl, Gail.

Dean was almost relieved. At least if Bobby was being held prisoner, that would explain why there had been nothing but silence from him. Dean had been pretty pissed off at Bobby; maybe he needed to cool his jets.

Bobby was in prison, all right, but it was Hell's prison, and Lucifer was the warden.

His cellmate had been chipping away at Bobby's psyche, and the cracks were now beginning to show.

"So, how did a loser like you become God, anyway?" Lucifer taunted Bobby.

Really? Was that all he had? "I dunno, how did a loser like you end up here for eternity?" Bobby fired back.

But Lucifer was not daunted. "Want a drink, Bobby?" he said, smiling. A bottle of bourbon appeared in his hand. That had been Bobby's drink of choice when he'd been a human, and he had loved the stuff. Admittedly, a little too much at times.

"You were quite the boozehound, weren't you?" Lucifer asked happily, almost as if he had read Bobby's thoughts. Bobby was alarmed at this, but he tried not to show it. He could read minds as God; did that mean the Devil could, too?

"Have a drink, Bobby," Lucifer said again, extending the bottle. "On me."

Bobby's hand itched to take the bottle from him, but he did not move. This was a trick, an illusion. And even if it wasn't, what did it matter? He may not have Godlike powers here, but Bobby was still an Angel. He did not have the need to drink now. He did not want to drink.

Lucifer shrugged. "Suit yourself." He uncapped the bottle and drank it straight down. "Aaaah!" he exclaimed after finishing. He had backed Bobby up to the corner of the cage by now, and Bobby could smell the bourbon on Lucifer's breath. Another illusion?

Suddenly, Bobby wanted that drink, and wanted it very badly. Angel or no, he would have liked to take the edge off.

Lucifer was grinning in his face. He said softly, "Gotcha," and turned his back on Bobby, retreating to the other side of the cell.

Dammit, he had, too, just for a moment. Bobby had been worried before; now he began to feel scared, as well. If a parlour trick like that had unhinged him this easily, what did that say about Bobby? And what would come next?

Lucifer had returned to sitting in the lotus position on the opposite side of the cage. He was still smiling happily. He had seen the first crack, and he had lots of bullets left.

Cas and Gail had concluded their conversation with Sam and Dean, and he now took her hand and led her to the diner beside the gas station.

"Let's go stare at a cup of coffee," he smiled.

She smiled back, appreciating his attempt at lighthearted humour. Gail knew that there was nothing else they could do for Sam and Dean at this point, but she was still extremely worried about Kevin's vision and she knew Castiel was too.

After seating themselves in a booth at the back of the diner and being served coffee, they looked at each other for a moment. Then, as Cas reached for her hand across the table, he winced and his hand went instead to his forehead again.

"Another message?" Gail said after a moment, as gently as she could.

"No," he replied wearily. "Just...chatter. Static. Constantly."

"Maybe you should turn it off for a while, then," Gail said to him.

He looked at her. "I can't do that, Gail. What if we receive another message from Kevin? Or from someone else?"

She considered this. She knew he was right, of course, but she hated the way the constant noise was making him look. Gail could only imagine how painful it must feel. She'd felt things in her head too, but hers was more like a low hum, and it was very intermittent. To be constantly bombarded as Castiel was being right now must be almost unbearable.

Gail was about to insist that he shut it off, if only for a few minutes, when Castiel suddenly sat up straight and his eyes widened. Another message had come through, cutting across the chatter:

"This is your only warning, Castiel. Surrender yourself now, or your friends will suffer the consequences. You know what I am capable of."

Then the transmission ended abruptly. Cas reached blindly for Gail's hand and knocked his cup of coffee over. The hot liquid scalded her arm and she cried out involuntarily.

Castiel stared at the red mark on Gail's arm as she took some paper napkins out of the holder on the table. She applied them to the red blotch on her arm for a moment, then started mopping up the spilled coffee on the table.

"Ow," she said mildly. It had hurt, but she'd had a lot worse pain in her life. "Well, you weren't drinking it anyway," she quipped.

Gail looked up at Castiel expecting to see a smile and instead, she saw a look of horror on his face.

"What have I done?" he said softly.

She knew he wasn't talking about the burn on her arm, though he reached out automatically and healed it for her.

"What are you talking about?" Gail asked him. "What was the message?" She knew there had been one just by the way he had reacted.

He told her what Jason had said, giving her the message word for word, almost in a monotone. Most people hearing him speak like that would have thought Castiel unfeeling and robotic, but Gail knew him better by now. She knew he was covering his anguish.

Castiel looked down at the table when he'd finished speaking, then he said quietly, "I need to go back."

Panic rose in Gail's throat. "No!" she said. "Are you crazy?" She realized her voice had risen, and struggled to calm down so they wouldn't attract attention. There were very few people in the diner and so far, they were being ignored.

"I'm putting you all in danger." He raised his eyes to look at her.

Gail thought of Sam and Dean and the vision and felt a stab of apprehension. Castiel was right. But he was wrong, too.

"So you're just going to march into Heaven and let them put you to death? I don't think so!" she said, and here the tears came. She was going to call attention to them now. This wasn't the place for this conversation.

"Let's go," Gail said. "We need to talk in private." She stood and walked out of the diner, wanting to get out of there before she lost it.

Castiel threw a few dollars down on the table and followed Gail out of the diner. They walked back to where the car was parked and got in.

"Please don't," Gail said, throwing herself into his arms. "Please. Promise me."

He held her, but didn't speak.

She pulled out of the embrace and touched his face. "Please." Gail's tears were flowing freely now.

A lump was forming in his throat, but he couldn't let the sight of her deter him. He didn't want to face the tribunal, but he didn't want Sam and Dean to suffer interrogation by Jason, either. But if he and Gail went back, she would face charges, too. He couldn't have her subjected to that.

"Then you go on alone," Castiel said to her.

She laughed, but it was a humourless laugh. "You can't possibly think I'd consider that," Gail said. "If you go back, I'm going with you."

His heart sank. He knew she'd say that. "If you go back with me, you'll face charges too," Cas said to her. "I can't have that on my conscience, along with everything else."

"Well then, I guess you can't go back," Gail said, almost cheerfully.

Castiel sighed. She had him there, and she knew it.

Gail didn't care. Whatever it took to keep him away from that tribunal. Yes, she felt sick to her stomach thinking of Jason looking for Sam and Dean, but the Winchesters were experienced Hunters, and they knew how to fight. If Castiel walked back into Heaven, he was walking right into a death sentence. She knew which way she had to go on this. The whole situation sucked, but she'd known that ever since Castiel had shown her the summons.

"Let's go find a motel and get you some rest," Gail said, taking his hands in hers. "We'll talk some more if you want. But you're going to turn off that damn Radio for a couple of hours. At least promise me that."

He nodded slowly. "OK, Gail. All right." Truthfully, he needed a bit of silence in his head. He needed to be able to hear himself think.

They checked into a motel, using what Gail had jokingly referred to as the "two-finger check-in". Since neither of them had any identification, they could not have rented their car nor checked into any half-decent motel without proper identification; that was not the way the world worked these days. So at the earliest opportunity, Castiel would touch the forehead of the desk clerk with two fingers, modifying his or her memory, and the two Angels would get their room key. They always paid the room fee, so they weren't being dishonest, just working within the confines of the human world. She'd wondered how that was going to work when they got settled in their new life in Canada. You couldn't just go around doing that to everyone all the time. But she'd joked that she might have to take Castiel with her on job interviews. Gail had never successfully done that herself, but then she was a junior Angel and hadn't actually had any practice at more than the most rudimentary skills. Maybe that was something she should ask for once they got to their new home.

But she did not feel like joking now. As they sat in their motel room, Gail kept a close eye on Castiel. She was still half-afraid he was going to just wink out of the room and surrender himself anyway. There would be nothing she could do to prevent it if he did. But she told him that she would follow him to Heaven if he did, and he knew she meant it.

Castiel saw Gail eyeing him, and he knew what she was thinking. But he had capitulated for her before, and he was about to do so again. "You don't have to worry, I'm not going anywhere," he said to her, smiling wryly.

"Maybe I just like to look at you. You're awfully cute, you know," she quipped.

Now she was using humour to try to make him feel better, Castiel realized. Funny how they both did that now. Xavier had once said that Gail was a bad influence on him but, like everything else, Xavier had been wrong about that. She was the greatest blessing he had ever received.

He walked over to where she sat and caressed her cheek with one hand, favouring her with a smile. "I love you," he said, "and I will never leave you. You have my promise."

"Thank you," she said, and she kissed his hand.

Castiel sat down on the bed and took off his shoes, then sat up on the bed with the pillows propped up behind him, the way he usually sat when he watched TV. But he did not turn on the TV set.

"I'm turning off the Radio for a little while," he said to Gail. "You were right. I need the quiet." He closed his eyes.

She smiled. "Good. We'll have quiet time."

After a moment, he looked at her. "Are you coming?" He made a gesture towards him.

She smiled again. "In a minute. Save my place."

He closed his eyes again, and Gail continued to look at him. He did look a lot more relaxed now, almost like he could be sleeping. She wanted to leave him be for a few minutes, and she had a message of her own to send on Angel Radio.

"Please, God," Gail prayed. "We need your help. Castiel needs your help, and so do Sam and Dean. I know you're retired, but I don't know what else to do here. Please help your Son. I'm begging you."

She repeated the prayer several times, then stopped. That would have to be enough for now. She didn't even know if God was still tuned in. How retired was He? But He'd always been able to hear her thoughts loud and clear, and Gail was hoping that would still be the case.

Then she stood and climbed onto the bed with Cas. He opened his arms right away and she nestled into them. His eyes were still closed as he savoured the Radio silence, and Gail closed her eyes, too. She wished they could fall asleep; they could both use the escape from reality for a while.

But all they could do was lay there quietly, so that was what they did. There was no more talk about going back to Heaven. They were committed now, and they would keep on going.

Sam and Dean were in a motel room too, in Wyoming. There had been a few things going on around the country that sounded like potential cases, and when Dean had told Sam to pick one, Sam had picked the northernmost one. He'd remembered Cas's slip about going north, and while Sam was doing research on the potential case, he was also surfing the Net for any reports on possible Angel activity. Sam didn't know exactly why, but it just felt important to him not to let Cas and Gail get too far away. He still thought he could figure something out if he just put his mind to it. Sam was a smart guy. There had to be a way out of this.

Dean sat drinking a beer while Sam clicked away at the computer. He'd heard Cas's comment about going north too, and Dean wondered if that was why Sam had picked Wyoming. Not that Dean cared, particularly; there did seem to be a case here for them, too. Some weird, unexplainable deaths under strange circumstances. The usual. After Sam came up with the details, they would go ahead and do what they did.

But they would watch their backs. Dean had minimized the concern he felt about Kevin's vision when Cas and Gail had called, but Dean was well aware of the risk. He had seen Angels in action before, and it wouldn't be a good idea to dismiss the danger Jason posed to him and Sam. But what could they do about it? If he was going to come, let him come. Dean hadn't kicked any Angel ass in a long time. If he thought he hated Angels and Heaven before, Dean had gone beyond that now. For what they were doing to Cas, Dean would gladly go up there and kick the ass of each and every one of those sons of bitches.

3 - DISRESPECTING GOD'S NAME

Another day passed, and Jason picked up the phone to call Xavier. He needed Xavier's approval to proceed to the next phase after his computer search for the Angels had come up empty. Though truth be told, Jason's search had been half-hearted at best. He was eager to get down to Earth and do what he did, what he had been doing before God had come back to Heaven and spoiled the party. Interrogation and apprehension were Jason's bread and butter, and he had been withering on the vine sitting behind a desk.

Jason hated humans as much as Xavier did, but he wasn't above studying their habits and tendencies. It was important to get to know your prey. He had asked Xavier for as much intel as possible on Sam and Dean Winchester, and on the Angel Gail. Jason knew Castiel quite well, or at least he did when they had worked together. He was still unsure as to the extent of the influence his three other targets had had on Castiel. Rumour was rampant in Jason's circles that Castiel had gone soft, but Jason himself did not believe that. Xavier had filled Jason in on the events that had occurred at the aborted Upper Echelon meeting, and that told Jason that Castiel was still someone you did not want to cross. The source of his anger at Xavier interested Jason, though. Castiel may or may not have gone soft, but clearly he had feelings for the female Angel, and that would make him vulnerable.

Jason also knew that Castiel had been with the Winchester brothers for a long time. God had approved of and even fostered this association, and Castiel had thanked Him by turning his back on Heaven, and siding with the humans time and time again after God had gone. And once God came back, He had again allowed Castiel to go back to Earth with the humans, and had even given him a female companion who had up until very recently been a human herself. It was enough to make Jason sick. He waited for Xavier to pick up the phone. He couldn't wait to get started.

Xavier picked up the in-house phone in God's office, seeing from the display that it was Jason calling.

He had decided yesterday that he would begin working out of this Office immediately. It would be his soon anyway, and if anyone didn't like it, that was too bad. He was the senior ranking Angel in Heaven, and he needed access to Bobby's files in case any executive decisions had to be made. So Xavier had moved in, telling Laurel she was to screen his calls and report to him until and unless Bobby returned.

Ignoring the shocked look on Laurel's face, Xavier had moved some things into Bobby's office and had been working from there ever since. Laurel was a mere receptionist, an underling; if she would not serve him, he would replace her.

"I know why you're calling, Jason," Xavier said into the phone. "Why don't you come here in...say, half an hour? I've got some information to share that might help you. You can leave tomorrow."

Then he hung up the phone. Xavier had indeed read all of Bobby's files and notes, and there was a wealth of information in them. He wished he'd had access to them sooner. Xavier had grabbed a quill and made notes when he read about the Angel Gail's stay in Crowley's den. Very interesting. She had obviously been rehabilitated enough for God Himself to have allowed her to become an Angel, but Xavier now wondered what type of Angel she really was. Then he read the Winchester Prophecies and was shocked to learn that Castiel and Gail had apparently been cohabiting ever since she had become an Angel! How had he not known about this? While he knew that Angels were celibate, this arrangement was most improper. Obviously, this was the human influence. And then Xavier read Bobby's notes on the Vegas Prophecies, and he was floored. Bobby had actually turned the Angels Castiel and Gail into humans and set them loose in the most sinful city in the world, with their human companions the Winchester brothers! Xavier had merely been baiting Castiel in the Upper Echelon meeting, but here was the proof in his hand. A conviction for both on Count 7 was now a certainty.

Xavier had also noted from the files something else that he had not realized, something that would interest Jason very much. Apparently, the Winchester humans and none other than Crowley, the King of Hell himself, had some kind of a strange relationship. First Gail, now Sam and Dean Winchester. And Gail's brother in life, Frank, had up until just recently been a Knight of Hell, at Crowley's right hand! Xavier had also not forgotten that Bobby himself had had a spell book in this very desk inscribed by Rowena, the witch who was Crowley's mother. What kind of unholy relationship did all of these parties have with each other?

Xavier was equal parts excited and horrified. Excited, because it would appear that he had stumbled upon the motherlode as far as the tribunal went. Xavier had already felt he had enough to convict Castiel on multiple counts prior to reading these files based on the rogue Angel's past actions alone, but one could never be sure. Xavier knew that his fellow board member Ignatius had wavered in the past when it came to Castiel, and was indecisive still. Ignatius had advised that he was reluctant to convict an Upper Echelon Angel unless the evidence against him was overwhelming, and Xavier needed a unanimous vote to impose the death penalty. Well, wait until this evidence was presented.

But he was also horrified at the things that had apparently been going on behind God's back and, quite frankly, behind his own. Yes, Xavier had spoken to Crowley himself recently, and had even had dealings with him, but in Xavier's mind, that was different. He was trying to rid Heaven of a dangerous criminal, and if Xavier had to use less than savoury methods to do so, he would.

With this in mind, Xavier picked up the Hotline, and when Crowley answered, Xavier said, "I need some information."

Crowley was amused, but he was also annoyed. Who the bloody hell did Xavier think he was dealing with? He was the King of Hell, not someone's lackey.

"Do you?" he replied coolly. "Well, I need an Angel-free existence."

Now it was Xavier's turn to be annoyed. "I was given to understand that our conviction of Castiel was something that you very much wanted."

"Now that would be a good start," Crowley quipped. "And how is that going?"

"It's not," Xavier said shortly.

What? Crowley thought. "What do you mean?" he said suspiciously.

Xavier was angry that he was going to have to discuss this with the likes of Crowley, but he felt he had no choice.

"I mean, that Castiel did not show up for the tribunal," Xavier said through gritted teeth. "He is now a fugitive, and I am sending my best Enforcement Officer to Earth to collect him."

Crowley's amusement took over. So Castiel had skipped out, leaving Xavier holding the bag. Crowley could just picture Xavier, all dressed up and no one to prosecute. It was almost too funny.

"So you let him slip through your fingers," Crowley said, smirking. "Aside from the obvious amusement factor, why are you calling me?"

Xavier closed his eyes and counted to ten. When this was all over, he'd have to ask Jason if there was a way to put a contract out on the King of Hell. Pious or not, if Xavier was forced to deal with Crowley as his opposite number for eternity, one of them would have to die, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be him.

"I understand that you have had a - for lack of a better term - a working relationship with the Winchester humans in the past," Xavier said stiffly.

"I suppose you could call it that," Crowley said cautiously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"My Enforcement Officer would like to have a chat with them about Castiel's whereabouts," Xavier replied.

"A chat," Crowley said sarcastically. "All very civilized, I imagine?"

"What do you care?" Xavier fired back.

Crowley had to admit he had a point there. What DID he care? "So Jason needs me to call the Winchester boys for him, does he?"

Xavier was startled. He had deliberately avoided saying Jason's name.

"Yes, that's right, I know who Jason is," Crowley continued evenly. "You're not the only one who keeps files, Xavier."

Xavier sighed inwardly. Fine. "If you call them and arrange a meeting, it would be to our mutual benefit," he told Crowley. "I am sure my - Jason could persuade them to give us the location of the Angels."

Angels? Of course; he was referring to Gail, as well. Crowley now suspected she did not possess the powers he'd thought she had. Metatron had finally convinced him that if she had, surely she would have exhibited them by now, and Crowley had grudgingly agreed. He was still mystified as to what exactly had happened that day in the den, but he had tired of her. As far as Crowley was concerned, he was well shot of the Angels. Let Xavier have them both.

So he told Xavier he would call Sam and Dean, try to arrange a meeting. But why would they ever agree to meet with him, especially after the last time?

"I'll call you back in a minute," Crowley told Xavier, and hung up.

He thought furiously. What kind of a deal could he offer Sam and Dean? What could be enough to entice them? The obvious answer would be Bobby, of course, but even if Crowley had a way to release him from Lucifer's cage, Bobby needed to be out of the way in order for the tribunal to proceed. If he were to return to Heaven prematurely, Castiel's hearing would be cancelled. But Crowley had to admit he had kind of painted himself into a corner there. The better case scenario for Crowley would be for Xavier to carry out the death sentence on Castiel, then for Crowley to release Bobby back to Heaven, screwing Xavier in the process. Crowley had come to despise Xavier as much as Xavier clearly despised him. If Crowley had to deal with a God, he would much rather stick with Bobby. But only God Himself could unlock Lucifer's cage, as far as Crowley knew. He would have to ask Metatron about that.

So if he couldn''t offer Bobby, what else did he have? Then he had it. It might require a great sacrifice on his part, but it was the only thing he could think of. Xavier was going to owe him, big.

Crowley called Sam's cell. He normally would have called Dean's, but of course, the last Crowley had heard, Dean's cell phone was in about a million tiny pieces, courtesy of his friend Castiel.

Crowley was still smirking at that mental image when Sam picked up.

"Hello, Moose," Crowley said.

Sam and Dean were on the road when Sam's cell phone rang. Sam heard Crowley's voice and put the phone on speaker so Dean could hear, placing the phone on the seat between them.

Dean rolled his eyes when he heard Crowley's voice. What the hell did he want now?

"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't just hang up on you right now," Dean barked.

"I can give you two," Crowley answered. "Two Angels, to be exact."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. What the hell did Crowley know about Castiel and Gail?

"Keep talking," Dean said.

"There's a very nasty Angel looking for your friends," Crowley said, "sent by another very nasty Angel."

"Tell us something we don't know," Sam retorted.

"All right, I will," Crowley said with good humour. "I'm supposed to arrange a meeting with you boys and hand you over to him."

The brothers exchanged glances again, and Dean pulled the car over to the shoulder of the highway.

"Since when are you a go-between for Heaven?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Since Xavier has taken over as God pro tem," Crowley replied.

"So you're working for that asshat?" Dean said incredulously.

"Just when we thought you couldn't stoop any lower," Sam added.

The brothers were still staring at each other during this exchange, trying to figure out where Crowley was coming from and why he would call out of the blue like this. Furthermore, why would he tell them about handing them over to Jason; why wouldn't he just DO it?

"The last time we agreed to meet you, we were in Hell and Metatron was using us for a pincushion," Dean pointed out. "Pass." He reached for the button to hang up the phone.

"Wait," Crowley said, sensing what Dean was about to do. "You haven't heard what I have on offer yet."

Dean hesitated, then sighed. You'd think he'd know better by now. "What?" he snapped.

"Frank," Crowley replied.

Sam and Dean stared at each other, stunned. They'd hung up the phone after Crowley had pitched his deal, telling him they'd call him back.

"We've got to call Gail and tell her about this," Sam said.

"No. No way," Dean replied angrily. "You know this is a set-up."

"Maybe, maybe not," Sam said. "Look, Crowley is a low-life scumbag, but we've never seen him renege on one of his deals."

"So, what? We just hand them over to Jason if Crowley gives us Frank? Even if we knew where they were? Which we don't," Dean retorted.

Sam's wheels were spinning. "Maybe we can work something out where everybody wins. Well, almost everybody," he said, grinning.

Dean thought he was nuts, and told him so.

"We'll see," Sam said. "Let's give them a call anyway. See what they say."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Dean said, exasperated. It was bad enough having to talk to Crowley; now Sammy was acting like Mr. Smart Guy.

Sam raised an eyebrow. Oh, thought Dean. They did have a way.

Castiel and Gail were in Washington State now, going through the last U.S. territory before reaching the Canadian border. Even though they both knew it made no sense, they were excited about the prospect of entering a different country. It really did feel like they could escape from their enemies and make a new start if they could only just get across that border.

There had been no more talk about surrender, but Gail had advised that once they got into Canada she was going to get a disposable cell phone for them to use to contact Sam and Dean. Her and Cas's concern for the brothers was the only thing that continued to cast a pall on their excitement.

"Good idea," Cas said. "Then they'll have a way to contact us as well. But I still think we shouldn't tell them where we are."

Gail looked at him. Sometimes she thought that Castiel was more human than any of them. They'd already established that it didn't really matter to Jason whether the brothers knew where they were or not; he would still not hesitate to use whatever means he thought necessary to force them to talk. Yet Cas had convinced himself that as long as Sam and Dean had no knowledge of their friends' whereabouts, they would be all right. It was irrational, and uncharacteristic of Castiel. But Gail reasoned that if that was what he needed to believe, she would let him have that. There was nothing they could do to protect the Winchesters short of giving themselves up, and that was not going to happen. Gail's way of dealing with her guilt was to propose that they get that cell phone and keep in touch with their friends regularly. Cas had his irrationality; she had hers.

And then suddenly, both Angels heard the brothers' voices in their heads.

Sam and Dean had checked into the first motel they came upon after their discussion with Crowley and with each other, and as soon as they dropped their bags on the floor, both men dropped to their knees.

"Cas, Gail, we need to talk to you right away," Sam prayed. "We don't know where you are, but if you can hear us, you guys come here."

Dean prayed, "I think Sam's crazy, but I guess we should talk, anyway."

The brothers prayed as loudly and intensely as they could.

Gail turned to Castiel, her eyes widening. "I'm getting it," she said in amazement. "I can hear everything they're saying. That's never happened to me before."

Castiel smiled. "They must really want to see us, then," he told her. He'd already pulled the car over.

"It's kind of weird being prayed to," Gail remarked. "Especially by them." She smiled, too.

"You get used to it," Cas said dryly. "I guess we'd better go, before they start swearing. You might not enjoy that as much."

He took her hand and they winked out of the car.

Gail was still laughing from Cas's comment as they appeared in Sam and Dean's motel room.

"What's so funny?" Dean asked. He'd jumped just a bit when they appeared, even though he and Sam had been asking for them to come.

"You are," Gail said, walking over to Dean and kissing him on the cheek. "You guys told us to come, but we still scared you anyway?"

"You didn't scare me, I just...shut up, Gail," Dean answered, somewhat lamely.

Gail laughed happily. She'd take that from Dean all day long, as long as he and Sam stayed safe.

Then she crossed over to where Sam was and they shared a hug, but Sam was not smiling. How were he and Dean going to tell her about this latest salvo from Crowley?

"What's wrong, Sam?" Cas said. He'd seen the expression on Sam's face and it worried him.

Sam sighed. He disengaged himself from Gail's embrace and sat her down on the bed.

"We got a call from Crowley," Sam told them.

Gail threw up her hands and looked skywards. Of course. Of course they had. Things had been going a little too smoothly, hadn't they?

"What did he say, Sam?" Castiel asked. His quiet, angry voice.

Sam swallowed and looked at Gail.

What the hell, Dean thought. Sammy was having such a hard time. Dean would take one for the team.

"Crowley said he'd give us Frank if we gave you two to Jason," Dean blurted out. Sam looked at him gratefully.

Gail jumped up and wheeled on Dean. "What?" she said.

"I know, Gail," Dean said uncomfortably. He hated to see the look on her face.

Cas stood rooted to the spot, shock and rage doing battle inside him. They couldn't be serious.

But they were, of course. "We thought you needed to know," Sam told him. "I thought if we put our heads together, we could figure this thing out."

Figure it out? What was there to figure out? Both Castiel and Gail had these same thoughts, but they were coming from two very different angles.

"We'll take the deal," Cas said immediately, but Gail said, "No way."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. OK, not exactly a meeting of the minds here.

Gail wheeled on Castiel now. "What do you mean, we'll take the deal?"

He approached her and tried to take her hand, but Gail was having none of that. "You know Crowley's just screwing with us," Gail said, tears forming in her eyes. She was angry at Crowley, angry at Cas, angry at Sam and Dean; but most especially, Gail was angry that she was about to cry, yet again. She should really buy some stock in a tissue company, she thought bitterly.

"I don't know if he is," Sam said thoughtfully. "He did tell us that he was supposed to be setting us up for Jason."

Castiel gave him a sharp look. That made no sense. If Crowley were to set up a meeting with the brothers to hand them over to Jason, why would he tell them about it? And how was Crowley even involved, anyway? This was Heaven's business. Maybe Sam was right; maybe the four of them could work something out. Castiel didn't believe for a minute that Crowley would actually hand Frank over; he was just the carrot to be dangled, enticing the brothers to come to the meeting. And to take it further, it was logical to assume that Crowley knew the four of them would be having this conversation right now. Mutual hatred aside, Crowley knew them very well. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that Crowley knew that if he brought Frank with him, Gail would show up to see her brother. And where there was an Angel Gail, there would be an Angel Castiel, and there would be Jason, cuffs at the ready.

He shared these thoughts with the group now, and Sam and Dean were nodding, agreeing with his logic.

"I have a plan, but it will require a sacrifice on your part, Gail," Castiel said to her. It hurt his heart to see the look on her face. The thought of her brother in Hell had been a constant source of sorrow for Gail and here Crowley was, twisting the knife. The logical side of Castiel's brain could see why Crowley was using Frank in this manner, but his human heart broke for Gail nonetheless. If and when they ever got out of this mess, Castiel vowed to make Frank his number one priority.

But for now, they had to play the cards they'd been dealt. So Castiel outlined his plan. It wasn't a great one by any means, but it would have to do.

Once he'd finished, Gail did take his hand. "You really scared me," she said, relieved. "I don't know whether to kiss you or punch you."

Cas smiled. "Let's do the first one."

What a blessing that he could make her laugh even in the face of this situation. Gail did kiss him then, and he hugged her tightly to him.

"Set up the meeting," Cas said to the brothers.

Dean drove the Impala to the nearest crossroads and Sam made the call.

They exited the car and an instant later, Crowley appeared before them. And Frank was with him.

The winchesters stared at Frank. They'd never known him as he was in life. He'd been a Hunter like them, but then Crowley had gotten his hooks on Frank and Gail, and Gail had survived, but Frank had not. The last time they'd seen Frank, he had been in Crowley's domain as a Knight of Hell; and Frank had killed Castiel, forcing his sister to kill him and send him back to Hell, where he existed now, presumably in torment.

Frank stared back at them with no discernible expression on his face. He'd been toiling away in Hell a moment ago and then Crowley had suddenly appeared in the boiler room, asking Frank to accompany him to Earth. Like he'd had a choice. As he regarded his sister's friends, Frank was puzzled. Why had Crowley brought him here? Frank remembered everything, even way back when he had been a human, dying in Crowley's cage in the Demon safe house. These guys had come busting into the basement with Gail, accompanied by their Angel companion, the one he'd killed when Frank was in Crowley's service as a Knight. Crowley had momentarily poisoned Frank's mind against his sister's friends and he had tried to kill them all. But he realized now that Crowley had lied, and that these men had only ever been trying to help Gail. He felt regret that he had succeeded in killing her other friend. Crowley had not bothered to tell Frank that Castiel still lived.

Where was Gail now? Frank hoped she was OK. Did these men know? Was she still with them? They were looking at him with expressions that were half hatred, half sympathy. Not that he could blame them.

Dean was trying to remind himself that what had been done to Frank wasn't his fault, but it was hard to look at him and not remember that the last time they had seen each other, Frank was killing Cas, and would have killed him and Sam too, if Gail hadn't killed him herself. He wasn't sure how he felt about Frank, but he tried to focus on the fact that he was Gail's brother, and he was important to her.

Sam was thinking along the same lines as Dean. This was Gail's brother before them and as ambiguous as they felt about Frank, Sam was trying to remind himself that Frank had been a Hunter in life, a good guy. But he was a Demon now. Even if Crowley intended to keep his end of the bargain, how would that even be possible?

"I kept my word," Crowley said to the brothers. "Here he is."

"Not so fast," Sam said. "He's a Demon, isn't he? What are we supposed to do with a Demon?"

Crowley smiled. "I'm the King of Hell, Sam. I can turn him back into a real boy with a wave of my hand."

Sam was startled. Could he? Sam had read a lot of lore, and he had never heard of such a thing. Was Crowley shining them on?

"Really," Dean said skeptically. "Just like that."

Crowley hadn't expected the brothers to believe him, but it didn't matter. Firstly, he had no intention of doing any such thing. Frank's presence was merely for show. And secondly, he actually could do it if he so desired, and he had that carrot in reserve if he needed it in the future.

"Believe what you want, boys," he said calmly. "I'm an Original; I can do many things that aren't in your books." He smiled at Sam.

Suddenly, Jason materialized before Crowley.

"What kept you?" Crowley said to him, smiling.

Jason stared at him. He was disgusted to be standing this close to two Demons. Sometimes his job called for a certain association with lower forms of existence, but Xavier was really scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

Gail appeared then, and faced her brother. She had the impulse to hug him, but restrained herself. She was an Angel and he was a Demon. And the last time she'd seen Frank, he was killing Castiel. Where was his head at now? Did she even want him back, assuming Crowley could deliver? Not that she'd find out. Castiel had warned Gail that Crowley had no intention of fulfilling the deal; Frank was just the bait that had been dangled for the brothers to keep their appointment.

But the human part of Gail had allowed her to have a sliver of hope, and when Frank smiled and said, "Hi'ya, kiddo," Gail approached him and peered closely at his face. She could tell he was still a Demon, but he was smiling at her with no sign of the rage she'd seen when they'd last faced each other.

"I'm sorry about the Angel, Gail," Frank told her. "I wish I could take it back." He tried to smile. "I wish you'd killed me sooner."

Gail's heart hurt. Demon or no, this was the Frank she knew. "Castiel is alive," she told Frank.

Frank's smile was genuine now. "Really? I'm glad. Are you OK?"

Gail glanced at Crowley, and at the Angel beside him, who she could only assume was Jason. How to answer that question? Surprisingly, neither Jason nor Crowley had made a move, either towards her or towards Sam and Dean.

"Well, this has all been very heartwarming," Crowley said sardonically, "but I have places to be, souls to torture. Busy, busy, busy. Come, Frank."

Gail's heart sank. Castiel had been right, of course.

"Just a minute," Frank said, and grabbed Gail, pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back, surprised. And here the tears were, again.

"OK," Frank said to Crowley, pulling out of the embrace with his sister. "Let's go."

Crowley grabbed Frank by the arm and was about to vanish back into Hell with him when Jason grabbed Crowley's arm.

Crowley turned around slowly to face Jason, looking at Jason's hand on his arm. Really? "I usually don't allow anyone to touch me there unless they buy me dinner first," he said to Jason. Crowley's tone was playful, but his eyes flashed red and Jason hastily removed his hand, resisting the urge to wipe it on himself. "What is it, Jason?" Crowley said in a clipped voice.

"Where is Castiel?" Jason asked him.

"How should I know?" Crowley retorted.

"She means nothing," Jason said angrily, gesturing towards Gail. "It's him we want."

Gail couldn't help herself. As much as her heart was breaking to be losing Frank yet again, she quipped, "I think my feelings are really starting to hurt here." Humour was her way to try to cope with the pain, and out of the corner of her eye, Gail saw Frank smile again. He'd always known that about his sister.

But Gail couldn't look at Frank any more without starting to cry again, so she turned to look at Jason. "If you mean I'm nothing without him, you're right," she said to Jason. "But you can't have him."

Jason's eyebrows raised. Xavier had told him about Gail, and this was pretty much the disrespectful attitude he'd expected from her. He smiled nastily. "Oh, really?" he said to her. "We'll see."

"I'd be careful with that one," Crowley said to Jason in a pleasant enough voice. It had inexplicably cheered him to see Gail talk to Jason that way. "Hell hath no fury. And I know, first-hand." He looked at Gail. "Goodbye, sweetheart," he said to her.

"Wait," Jason said to him. Crowley frowned. The damned Angel had just ruined his triumphant exit. He sighed. "What?" he asked Jason.

"What about Castiel?" Jason demanded.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Does Heaven deduct IQ points as the price of admission? You've got all three of his nearest and dearest before you. Surely you'll be able to figure something out."

Then he grabbed Frank's arm again, and they were gone.

Gail barely had time to process what had just happened when Dean attacked Jason from the side. He'd used the fact that Jason had been distracted by Gail and by Crowley to edge up to the Angel, and momentarily took Jason by surprise. But even though Dean managed to knock him to the ground, Dean had no Angel blade.

But Sam did. He'd kept the Angel blade he'd recovered from Crowley in Las Vegas, and had mailed it to the bunker just before he and Dean had returned from there. He hadn't wanted to chance trying to get it on the airplane, but had gambled that the package might be delivered to them back home, and it had been. So Sam took it out of his boot now, and advanced on Jason.

But Jason had taken out his own blade, and he grabbed Dean and put the blade to his throat, stopping Sam in his tracks.

Gail's mind went to Kevin's vision. While not exactly as portrayed, this was pretty damn close. Too close. She had Angel powers, but what could she do with them when Dean was an inch away from death?

The only thing she could do. Gail stepped forward. "Let him go," she said to Jason. "I'll bring Castiel to you."

"Don't," Dean said, trying to struggle out of Jason's grip. He could feel the blade at his throat. He was afraid to swallow, that's how close it was. But there was no way he could let her do this.

"I have to, Dean," she said to him. "There's no choice."

Jason smiled. "Listen to her, human," he said to Dean. "I get the Angels, you get to live. That's what I believe you would call a 'win-win'."

"Not for them," Sam said bitterly.

Jason looked at him and shrugged. "Not my problem," he said casually. Now that he was going to get what he wanted, Jason felt like he was in the driver's seat. He only regretted he wasn't going to be able to torture any humans today. Oh, well. He was sure there would be lots of chances to make up for that in the near future, under Xavier's regime.

"Go ahead, bring him, then," Jason said to Gail.

"I never said I was going to fetch him for you," Gail said, moving closer still.

Jason's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm giving myself up to you," Gail told him. "The instant you take me up to Heaven, he'll follow, and then you'll have us both. But you need to let the humans go first."

Jason considered this. He actually liked that better. If he allowed Gail to disappear, supposedly to bring Castiel back here, they could just not come back, even if he had their humans hostage. But if he took Gail now, he was sure Castiel would follow. She was his weakest spot. Gail was making this too easy. In his hubris, Jason didn't stop to think about that.

"Fine," Jason said, and released Dean. Dean glared at him, but realistically, there was nothing he and Sam could do. This guy had a blade, and he also had Angel powers. He could knock both Dean and Sam into next week without breaking a sweat.

"Come on, then," Jason said to Gail impatiently.

"Only when the humans are safe," she responded. "Come here, Dean," Gail coaxed.

"You can't do this, Gail," Sam said to her. He was standing beside her, and Dean was backing up from Jason.

"It's already done, Sam," Gail said firmly.

Dean had reached them by now, and stood on Gail's other side. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said to her.

"I hope I do, too," Gail said, then she suddenly wheeled around and put one hand each on the brothers' foreheads, and they disappeared.

She stood there for a moment, awestruck. She'd done it! She'd actually done it! If the situation had been less serious, Gail would have laughed. Castiel would be proud.

She turned back to face Jason and started walking towards him. Just when he was about to grab her arm, Castiel appeared behind Jason with his own blade to Jason's throat.

"Drop it," Castiel growled.

Jason was furious with himself. He had been played, and played expertly.

"Do it, now," Castiel barked, and glaring at Gail, Jason dropped his blade and Gail moved forward to pick it up.

"Hmm," she said, pretending to examine it. "Shorter than I would have figured."

Jason was seething. This bitch was going to pay.

"I heard your warning," Castiel said to Jason. "And now I have one of my own. You can't find us, but I can find you. If anything happens to Sam or Dean Winchester, anything at all, I will come for you. And then I will come for Xavier. You go back to Heaven and give him that message. And just to show you I mean it..." Castiel took the blade and cut Jason's cheek with it, and Jason bit his lip to keep from crying out.

"What's that, Jason? Need more convincing?" Castiel said, and cut Jason's other cheek with it. This time Jason did scream.

"I'll take that as agreement," Castiel said. He released Jason then, but motioned for Gail to stand behind him. This was not the time for her to be brave, so Gail complied. Jason had no weapon and she was confident that Castiel would prevail if it came to a fight, but she was staying out of it.

Jason was breathing heavily from anger, and his face was dripping with blood. But he knew he could not win if he tried to fight, not under these circumstances.

"You're a criminal, and an affront to Heaven," he said to Castiel, shaking with rage. "You will be brought to answer for your crimes, and your humans will die. And just before your sentence is carried out, I will cut that Angel a thousand times for each of the cuts you have inflicted on me." He pointed to Gail, and she shivered involuntarily.

"Not today," Castiel said quietly. What Jason was saying scared him too, but he could not show it.

They stared at each other for another moment, then Jason was gone.

Gail and Castiel were both shaking, and she clutched at him for comfort. He hugged her to him, seeking comfort as well. Jason had meant what he said. He could not ever let Gail near Jason or near Heaven again.

Sam and Dean ran up to them then, startling Gail. She parted from Castiel and gaped at them. "What are you guys doing here?" she said to them. "You're supposed to be back at the motel!"

"You sent us a couple of blocks away, Gail," Sam said dryly. "As soon as we realized what had happened, we came back here."

"Damn!" she said. "And I was so proud of myself, too!"

"Why did you do it?" Dean asked her. His and Sam's protests had been in the script, of course, but their little trip had not.

"I just didn't want you guys around him," Gail said, putting her hand on Dean's arm. "I wanted to keep you safe."

Dean and Sam exchanged glances. Quite the role reversal, especially considering how they'd first met Gail.

"We've got to go," Cas said. He hated to do it. He'd have loved to stick around for a while, joking with the brothers about Gail's failed attempt to send them back to the motel, maybe even having a beer together. But now was not the time for sentiment. Jason would regroup, and now he would be even more motivated.

Dean looked at Cas. He understood. He hated it, too.

After hugs all around and promises to stay in touch, Cas and Gail disappeared and Sam and Dean got back into the Impala, each pair to resume life on the road.

4 - REST AND WORSHIP

Dean was examining the Angel blade Gail had given him a few days ago.

He and Sam were on their way to Utica, New York to look into some possible Werewolf murders. They'd decided it was probably not a good idea after all to consciously stay in the Pacific Northwest. Sam had initially thought they should try to be near Cas and Gail, but after the recent incident with Crowley and Jason, he'd had a change of heart. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to be that close to their friends right now. Before Cas and Gail had disappeared after their confrontation with Jason, Cas had warned him and Dean that Jason would come back. He'd be angrier and more focused than ever, and the next time he likely wouldn't be alone.

If the brothers were going to be a lightning rod for Jason and his goons, they agreed that it would be best to distance themselves from their Angel friends. Let them get further away, to wherever they were going. Sam had a few ideas on that score, but he wasn't entirely sure which to go with. He'd checked Google and considered a few routes they might be taking, once learning that they were going north from their home base.

Now Sam and Dean were in Chicago. They'd stopped to rest, and Dean was checking the weapons. They had to be discreet, of course, so they'd taken a room at the back of the motel and Dean had been rooting around in the trunk when no one was in sight.

He'd brought the blade into the room with them and was looking at it now. Funny how many Angel blades he'd seen over the years, yet he had never really closely examined one. Hard to do when somebody was trying to stick you with it. He turned it over in his hands, looking at the markings on the hilt. Dean had never noticed those before. He wondered if they were all the same. Then he remembered: Sam had an Angel blade now, too.

Sam looked at Dean curiously as his brother went back out to the car and again rooted around in the trunk, bringing Sam's blade inside the room and comparing them.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked him, bemused.

Dean had a blade in each hand, and he was examining the markings on each. They were very different. Presumably, the one Sam had now was Crowley's. It was the one he had used in the Las Vegas murders, the one that Metatron had originally used to kill Gail. That one had started the chain of murders that Crowley had perpetrated when he'd taken it from Metatron and killed him with it. When Crowley was done, he'd killed Chuck and Becky with it, and had been advancing on Cas to kill him too when Sam had tackled Crowley, and the blade had flown out of Crowley's hand. When Crowley subsequently vanished, he'd left the blade behind, and Sam had recovered it. Before Bobby had left the scene to go back to Heaven, Sam had asked him to clean the blade of the victims' blood and Bobby had waved his hand, restoring it to its pristine state. Sam hadn't wanted to do it himself in the human way. It had sickened him to think of Gail's blood on it, mixed with Metatron's and Chuck's. To say nothing of poor Becky's.

But Dean had had no problem with cleaning the blade he had after Gail had given it to him. There had only been Jason's blood on it, and he only wished there'd been more. He smirked now as he remembered Gail having told him about Cas getting the drop on Jason and cutting Jason's face with it to emphasize his own warning. Yeah, Cas was a badass sometimes; Jason and his gang might think he had gone soft on Earth, but they would be wrong. Gail had also told Dean what she'd said to Jason when she'd picked up the blade, after Cas had made him drop it, and Dean had laughed. She was getting pretty good; that had been a remark worthy of Dean himself.

Dean looked at Sam. "These blades have different markings on them. I was just wondering...I dunno, I was just wondering," he said.

Sam leaned forward, interested. He gestured for the blades. "Let me see," he said to Dean, and Dean passed them over.

Now Sam examined the blades side by side. He could see what Dean had seen; the markings on the hilts were almost like hieroglyphics, and they did differ from each other. Was this significant? This appealed to the researcher in him. Too bad he and Dean had made a pact to leave their Angel friends alone for a while; he'd be interested to see if Cas could shed any light on this, and to examine Cas and Gail's blades as well.

But at least both he and Dean had one now. If there was an Angel posse coming after them, at least if they were outnumbered, they'd be on equal footing as far as types of weapons were concerned. Angel blades were the only ones that were lethal to Angels, and the brothers also had handcuffs in the trunk with sigils carved into them. At least it was a start.

Cas and Gail were now in Seattle, and she had suggested they rest and regroup before the final push into Canada.

He was glad of the suggestion. Both of them had been emotionally drained since their confrontation with Jason, and the other events surrounding it. When they'd disappeared that day, Gail had immediately fallen into another funk.

"Frank was himself again," she'd said to Castiel. "He was smiling at me."

They'd gotten their motel room that night and he had been trying to hold Gail to calm her, but she was too agitated. She was pacing the room, trying to process what she'd seen.

Gail turned to look at Castiel, who was sitting on the bed watching her walk back and forth like he was watching a tennis match. He wished he knew what to say to her. When he'd formulated his plan, Castiel had told Gail it was going to require a sacrifice on her part, and she was experiencing the emotional fallout from it now. She'd had to appear to Jason while her brother was still there with Crowley so the Angel and the King of Hell would believe that she was going to surrender herself to Heaven. Crowley would then disappear with Frank back to Hell, having helped Jason catch his fish. Castiel knew that Crowley was not going to just hand over Frank out of the goodness of his heart. Frank was just the juicy bait Crowley had dangled to get the Winchesters to set up the meeting, and an enticement for Gail to come also. Cas knew it would cause Gail great pain to see her brother again and have him snatched away by Crowley, but he'd had to send her to make Jason believe he'd been victorious.

But Castiel hadn't foreseen the interaction between Frank and Gail. From what she was telling Cas, it sounded as if Frank had reverted back to himself, at least in demeanour. And that had been more painful for her than anything else. If he'd been snarling, full of rage as he'd been when she'd last seen him in the den, it would have been far easier to let him go. But smiling or not, Frank was still a Demon. Castiel felt the need to remind her of that, but he didn't want to seem insensitive nor hurt her further.

"He said he was sorry to have killed you," Gail told Castiel, trying to smile. "I told him you were alive, and he said he was glad."

Castiel still said nothing, but they were moving into dangerous territory here. Gail was speaking of her brother with such affection. It was understandable, but she had to realize that there was nothing they could do for Frank, or about him, at the moment.

"He hugged me," Gail said almost pleadingly. She was crying now. "Do you realize how long it's been since that happened?"

Castiel leapt off the bed then and took her in his arms. She submitted to his embrace, taking the comfort, but he could feel her detachment. She was thinking that her brother had returned to himself, and that they could be together somehow. He was going to have to be the bad guy here; although it was going to hurt him badly to do so, Gail needed to face reality and he needed to nip this in the bud.

Cas removed himself gently from the embrace and gripped Gail by her upper arms. Firmly, but not too hard. "I know that seeing him again was hard for you," he said, looking directly into Gail's eyes, "but he's a Demon, Gail. You know that. And you knew that Crowley was not just going to hand him over."

"Yes, but..." Gail struggled with herself. Castiel was right, as usual. Didn't he ever get tired of being right? "If you could only have just seen him," she said, but Castiel cut her off. He hated to do it, especially with the pleading way she was looking at him, but it was time for some tough love.

"It doesn't matter what he said or what he did," he said firmly. "He's a Demon. Angels don't consort with Demons."

That comment pierced her. It also made her angry. "Oh, like Angels are so holy? Angels like Jason, and Xavier? I'll take Frank any day over them!" Gail exclaimed.

She was right on point about Angels like Jason and Xavier, Castiel had to give her that. But she wasn't getting it.

"You and Frank can never be reunited," he said, wincing inwardly as he said it. "He's a Demon, and he serves Crowley now. You need to let it go."

"Oh, I do, do I?" Gail pulled away from him. "Well, maybe I don't want to!" She was shaking with anger now. Gail knew he was right, but she couldn't help how she felt. Tough love wasn't working for her. It was easy for him to say, she thought. How could Castiel possibly know how she was feeling? She had lost her whole family. What had he lost?

Gail strode over to where her purse was and snatched it off the table. "I'm going out," she said to Castiel. "I need to cool off." She walked to the door of the room and opened it, then turned back to Castiel. "And don't follow me. Please."

Then she was gone, shutting the door behind her.

Gail had seen a bar across the street when they'd arrived, and she headed there now.

She sat on a stool and ordered a glass of wine, wondering what she was doing. Angels didn't drink, and she was acting like an ass, and she knew it.

She looked around her. This place brought back so many memories. Gail remembered the bar she and the Winchesters had been in with Castiel looking for Steve, the Demon who had been one of her and her brother's kidnappers. Then there had been the bar Gail went to on Christmas Eve, after having escaped Crowley's den and his influence. She'd been reunited with Castiel that night. And then of course, there was the bar in Dallas that Dean had taken her to. She wished Dean was here with her now, ready to smack some sense into her. And how about the bar in Las Vegas, where the four of them had spent some fun time together? She and Sam had had a good time that last afternoon, talking and laughing. So many bars. She'd been human during most of those times, though. Now she was an Angel, and it had been a rude awakening to discover that Angels were not all Angelic; in fact, many she had encountered had been far from it. Now she really got the Winchesters' intitial reaction to Angels and Heaven. When they'd died, they had resisted becoming Angels, and she hadn't understood why. Boy, she did now.

And if Angels, or a lot of them, weren't especially Angelic, didn't it stand to reason that all Demons weren't necessarily Demonic? Frank had seemed so much like himself when she'd seen him. Gail herself had been rehabilitated from a Demonic state; couldn't Frank be, as well? But Castiel was so firm on the subject. Admittedly, Gail knew next to nothing about this sort of thing and she sighed, supposing she'd better trust in Cas. He had been a bit blunt, but maybe that's what she needed. She probably shouldn't be hanging on to a fantasy about having Frank back here on Earth, and back to his normal self. He WAS a Demon, and he'd been one for quite a while now. She'd never been a full-fledged Demon, after all. The situations were likely very different.

Gail's wine had arrived, and she looked at it, then took a big swallow. Yikes. That was quite an experience, she thought. If coffee was overwhelming, this had been even more so. Humans talked about the "bouquet", but they had no idea. She couldn't help but smile. It was a good thing Angels couldn't get loaded. The kind of mood she'd been in when she walked in here, that might have happened.

She was looking at her glass, wondering if she should risk another sip, when Gail felt a hand on her arm. She turned around, expecting to see Castiel. But it wasn't him. It was a man, though, a human man by the looks of him.

"Hi," he breathed into her face. "Can I buy you a drink?"

She looked at his hand on her arm, then back at his face. Really? This was his way of trying to pick her up? This guy could take a lesson in manners from Chuck, she thought. At least when he'd offered to buy her a drink in Vegas, he hadn't groped her first. She almost laughed. Were they sure alcohol didn't affect Angels? Maybe her drink of wine had gotten her drunk, if she was thinking warm thoughts about Chuck.

"No, thank you," she said to the man. "I just came in here for a quiet drink." She turned back to the bar, hoping he'd get the message.

But he didn't, of course. His grip tightened on her arm, and it was starting to hurt.

"Come on," he said, "I'm trying to be nice here."

Unbelievable. This was so cliche it was almost funny. He was hurting her now, but he was also starting to make her mad. What a dick, she thought, picturing Dean in her head.

But there was one more cliche to come. Just as Gail swivelled back to the man, ready to read him the riot act, Castiel was standing beside him.

"Let go of her," Cas growled.

Oh, wow. Gail did smile then. This was from every movie she had ever seen. It was pretty funny, actually.

"I'd do what he says," she said to the man.

He looked at her, then at Cas.

"Do it," Cas said, "or I'll do it for you. And you won't like my method." He took the Angel blade out of his pocket and showed it to the man, whose eyes widened.

Now Gail was alarmed. They were supposed to be keeping a low profile here. The last thing they needed was a violent bar altercation. She shouldn't have come here.

She wrenched her arm away from the guy and grabbed her purse. "Let's go," she said to Castiel. Gail got off the bar stool and edged away from the man, then she grabbed Castiel's arm. "Put that away," she said quietly, nodding at the blade. He put it back in his pocket, glared at the man, and allowed her to pull him out of the bar.

Gail laughed all the way back to the motel, and when they entered the room, she was wiping her eyes. Castiel was looking at her, puzzled. Sometimes Gail mystified him. She had left here so angry, telling him not to follow her, but of course he had, and now she was laughing.

After Gail collected herself, she put her arms around him. He returned the embrace, but he was still confused.

She pulled out of the embrace, still smiling. "My hero," she said. She touched his face. "He was just some drunk. I could have handled him, I'm sure, but I appreciate the backup." Her smile widened. "But you know, you don't have to whip your blade out for everything." This made her laugh again. Poor Cas was still looking out of sorts. Maybe she'd have to find the Harry Potter movies on TV to show him.

Her smile faded then. "But maybe I shouldn't lecture you about your temper," she told him, "since I seem to be having so much trouble with my own. I'm sorry, Cas. I know you were just trying to get me to accept reality. I just didn't want to hear it. I behaved like a child."

"I'm sorry too," Castiel said. "I know how much this situation with Frank hurts you. I wish there was something I could do."

"I know," she said, taking his hand. "I know. It sucks, but I just have to deal with it somehow. We've got other stuff going on."

"Speaking of which..." Castiel winced, knowing what he was about to say might make her angry again, "I don't think you should go out anywhere alone, Gail."

She looked at him. "That guy?" she scoffed. "He was just a drunken jerk. I really could have handled him, you know. He was hardly the first one I've ever run into."

"He might have been Jason," Castiel said pointedly.

OK, he had a point there. "You're right, as usual," she sighed. "But, I hate to tell you this, when we get to Canada we probably are going to have to get jobs. That means we'll have to be apart, sometimes. I'll just have to take my blade with me wherever I go, and you're going to have to give me some refresher courses on fighting. And maybe some Angel training, too."

Castiel considered this. He didn't mind training her. He thought that was a good idea. But the thought of her wandering out alone in a strange city? He didn't think he could get on board with that. They'd just have to work something out. But he didn't want to argue any more tonight, not when she'd calmed down like this.

"Oh, and another thing," Gail continued. "I meant what I said about the blade. We're living among humans. You can't just pull a knife on a guy and expect the police not to get involved. And we don't need that kind of attention."

Castiel nodded. She was right. They were on the run to stay out of Heaven's prison; the last thing he needed was to wind up in a human prison, even though it wouldn't hold him for long. He smiled despite himself. "I guess I lost my temper, too," Cas said to her, a little sheepishly.

"You? No," she said playfully, smiling back. She shook her head. Her Castiel. He was truly one of a kind. And what would she ever do without him? Hopefully, she'd never have to find out.

"Come here," Gail said, extending her hand to him. "I've had my wild night out on the town. Let's watch some TV."

They went to the bed and Cas turned on the TV, Gail snuggling into his arms. He was happy that Gail was all right now, and he hoped she'd be happy once they got to Canada. He would try his best to make sure she was. This latest encounter with Frank had been really hard on her, and up until recently, Sam and Dean's presence had helped to fill the void. Now Gail had only him, and Castiel felt as if he should do more for her. He kissed her softly.

Gail smiled and pulled his arms tighter around her. Cas really was good to her. She'd better smarten up. They were in this together, and they were starting a new chapter in their lives. If it wasn't for the threat of Jason and the tribunal hanging over their heads, things would be pretty good. Yeah, just those little things, she thought wryly. Just those little things.

Chuck was sorting books in the library when he got the tickle.

He looked up, startled. He could have sworn he'd just heard Gail's voice inside his head, just for a moment, saying his name. She had sounded amused.

Chuck sat down on the stool behind the front desk. He pictured Gail sitting on a stool somewhere at that very moment. A bar? What would an Angel be doing in a bar? Was Castiel with her? Of course he must be, but Chuck couldn't see him. Chuck closed his eyes, going with the feeling. He hadn't felt anything like this since God had removed his ability to see into the future. But this wasn't the future, it was happening right now. Chuck tried to focus. Where was Gail? She looked OK, he was relieved to see, just sad. Not that he could blame her. Everyone in Heaven knew that Castiel had not shown up for his tribunal, and rumours were going around that he and Gail were in the wind, and nobody knew where they were or what they were doing.

But Chuck knew. With his eyes still closed, he felt around and grabbed an Atlas. His fingers flipped through the pages and found what they were looking for; a map of North America. He opened his eyes and scanned the page. Seattle. That's where they were. Or Chicago. For some reason, he was getting both cities very strongly.

He closed the Atlas, mystified. Where had this come from all of a sudden? Was it a reward from God for his having turned himself into a good guy now?

And it was true. Ever since his decision to turn away from the darkness, Chuck had been nothing but benevolent and kind, and it felt good to him. His one frustration was that he couldn't do more. He had the feeling now that Castiel and Gail were in trouble, and he genuinely wanted to help them. He'd been so rotten to Castiel in the past, and he'd been the one responsible for Aurielle.

Chuck knew that Aurielle was still going to be trouble for the couple. He had gone to seek her out a while back. Gail had told him not to bother talking to Aurielle, but he'd been curious to see if she'd experienced the same kind of reformation he had. It would be nice to be able to talk to someone who felt the same way he did now, who had come from a dark place. And though he now suspected there had been a flaw in Aurielle's psyche in the first place, one that would have allowed her to be so misled, because Chuck had been the main one to do the misleading, he owed her an apology, at the very least.

So he had gone to see her. She was working for Xavier now, the acting God. Chuck wasn't sure what was up with Xavier, but he didn't have a good feeling about the guy. Prophets were by nature very insightful, and Chuck may not have those powers any more, but he could still read people. There was something hinky about Xavier. He just seemed a little too single-minded about this tribunal, for one thing. Most Angels didn't seem to notice or care any more, they'd just been disappointed not to have seen the mysterious Castiel and hear of his exploits. Many of Chuck's fellow Angels seemed to be treating the tribunal as if it were going to be a really interesting play, or an action movie. Many of the female Angels had been hoping for some romance, as well. Chuck smiled at that, though he would have smirked in the old days. As long as Chuck had known him, Cas had always had his share of female fans.

But it was this one particular fan that Chuck wanted to see. Aurielle looked up from her desk when Chuck entered Xavier's front office. She frowned, and Chuck noticed she'd been looking at a book of some sort, which she now threw into her desk drawer, closing it with a bang.

"If you're looking for Xavier, he's not here," she said coolly. "He's working out of God's office now."

Hmm, Chuck thought. Like everyone else, Chuck wondered where Bobby had gone. Bobby had been really good to him, giving him another chance when no one else would have. Chuck thought that a guy who had that much compassion would be a really good God, and Chuck had been looking forward to serving him. But now he had just disappeared, and Xavier was apparently chomping at the bit to take his place. Castiel was the next in line, and that's what this tribunal was supposed to be all about. But Chuck was starting to smell a rat. Bobby was missing and now so was Castiel, and Xavier had been walking around Heaven like he owned the place. Which Chuck supposed he kind of did, at least right now.

But he was here to see Aurielle, and Chuck told her so.

Aurielle raised her eyebrows. Why would Chuck want to talk to her? Just the fact that they were both here meant that they'd both convinced Bobby that they'd repented of their sins. Had Chuck?

"What do you want, Chuck?" Aurielle said. "I've got a lot of work to do."

Chuck closed the office door and pulled up a chair opposite her desk. "You're working on the tribunal documents, right?" he asked her.

She sighed. "Yes, Chuck. And there's a lot to organize." She started moving papers around, hoping he wopuld get the point and leave.

Chuck got the point, but he wasn't going anywhere, not yet. "What's that all about?" he asked her. "The tribunal?"

Aurielle rolled her eyes. She knew Chuck; she wasn't buying this innocent act.

"You know what it is," she replied tartly. "Everyone does. It's the hearing which will be conducted to decide if Castiel is worthy to ascend to the High Office."

Chuck was scrutinizing her face. Oh, she thought he was worthy, all right. Aurielle's face still transformed whenever she said Castiel's name. Chuck didn't even think she was aware of it.

"Or it would have been," Chuck said, "if he had shown up for it." Testing her.

Aurielle's eyes blazed. "He'll be here," she assured Chuck.

He sat back, both amused and alarmed. Amused because she still had that fangirl aura about her. Alarmed because everyone knew that "fan" was short for "fanatic", and he could see that Aurielle was still living in the land of delusion.

"What makes you so sure?" Chuck asked her.

"Xavier has taken steps to ensure that he is located and brought back safely," Aurielle said.

Safely? What on earth was she talking about?

"What do you mean, 'safely'?" Chuck said curiously.

Aurielle was wrestling with herself. She knew she probably shouldn't trust Chuck again, but she felt like she was going to burst. "The Angel Gail has him under a spell, and she has taken him away from us. Away from Heaven," she hastily amended.

Chuck was tempted to laugh, but he'd better not do it right now. She really was delusional if she thought that was what was going on. Was Aurielle truly crazy? Or was she just so in love with Castiel that she had blinded herself to the facts? He honestly didn't know what to say.

"What makes you say that?" he settled for, trying to arrange his features in a way to suggest to her that he was prepared to believe whatever she said.

Aurille regarded Chuck, trying to read his expression. She couldn't tell where he was coming from. Good, or still bad? Heads or tails? Then she decided to take a chance. She was God's assistant now, and Chuck was a librarian, and a guy who'd been disliked by many Angels when he'd been here before. Who would take his word over hers?

So she told him that there was some very credible evidence that Gail had put a love spell on Castiel, and had used it to lead him away from Heaven and into a life of sin with her.

Chuck couldn't believe it. It took all of the facial muscles he had to keep from breaking into a grin. Wow. She was really reaching here. But then he decided maybe it wasn't so funny. Maybe more crazy than anything. If Aurielle had truly convinced herself of what she was saying, she was beyond delusional.

"What kind of credible evidence?" Chuck asked.

Aurielle frowned. "I can't tell you that. It'll all come out in the tribunal." Then she smiled, envisioning Gail's discomfort on the stand as Xavier questioned her about what she'd been doing to Castiel.

Chuck noticed the faraway look on Aurielle's face, and her smile. Once again, he had the feeling she didn't even realize how she looked right now. He'd read a scary book once when he'd been a human about a writer and his "number-one fan" and he'd had trouble sleeping that night on Earth. Lucky he didn't have to worry about sleeping now. That book had hit a little too close to home at the time, and Aurielle had the "number-one fan" look now. Chuck was suddenly very scared for Castiel, but mostly for Gail.

Confirming his thoughts, Aurielle continued, almost as if she was speaking to someone else, someone they couldn't see. "She'll be brought to answer for her crimes, though. One way or the other," she said distantly, still smiling. Then she looked at Chuck, as if suddenly remembering he was in the room. "Jason is in the process of locating them right now."

Chuck was extremely worried now. He knew of Jason by reputation. Why would a bounty hunter be trying to locate someone who was, in essence, supposed to be attending a tribunal for a job interview? Because that's how the proceeding was being represented to the rest of Heaven. But Chuck was no fool. Like Kevin, he'd been on Earth for a while before coming here, and Chuck had seen a lot of TV shows. He'd particularly liked the crime shows. The tribunal room had resembled the setting of a trial, and now there was a bounty hunter looking for Cas and Gail. It didn't take a genius to do the math on this one. Xavier wanted God's job, and now that Bobby was gone, Castiel was the only one who was standing in his way. The tribunal was a sham; Xavier was going to put Cas on trial, maybe Gail too, by the sounds of it. And Castiel would be convicted, Chuck was sure of it. Not only because Xavier was running the show, but because Castiel had done a lot of questionable things in the past. Chuck should know; he'd been there for most of them. And Gail? Well, Chuck wasn't sure what she could have done. Certainly not that nonsense that Aurielle was alleging. Whatever Chuck may have felt about the pair when he'd been scheming against them, he knew that Cas and Gail genuinely loved each other, and he was now glad for them. He hoped to have a relationship himself one day, and now that Chuck had his head on right, he would try to emulate theirs. Look at everything they'd been through, and they were together still, weathering the storms. Some of which had been caused by him, Chuck thought ruefully, and his shameful legacy was sitting right in front of him in the form of Aurielle. Chuck needed to do something about her, at the very least. But what?

Aurielle was still smiling serenely, and the way she was looking at Chuck suggested that she knew there was nothing he could do to her, or about her. Should he just get a blade and kill her now? Yes, he probably should. But Chuck couldn't do that, and they both knew it. The road to redemption did not include murder. Aurielle didn't know still where Chuck's head was at exactly, but she could see something different in his eyes, something that had not been there before. He would not be an ally, just someone else she would have to be careful around.

So she straightened up in her chair, and said, "Chuck, I have a lot of work to do. Was there anything else?"

Chuck looked at her a moment longer and then he sighed. He had his answer about Aurielle now, but about a million more questions were forming in his head. The main one was: What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Metatron knocked on Crowley's door and then walked in without an invitation. Crowley sighed and closed the file he had been reading. He'd been tapering off from his regular bull sessions with Metatron, but Metatron seemed to be having trouble cutting the cord. To be fair, Crowley supposed, Metatron really had nothing to do with himself at the moment. Crowley had not wanted to put him back to work or torture him any more. Crowley just wanted him gone. Once Xavier took over as God, Crowley would throw a going-away party for Metatron, if Xavier would take him back to Heaven and off Crowley's hands.

But for now, Metatron was Crowley's burden to bear. After all, he had killed Metatron in Las Vegas, in anger, knowing full well that he would only end up back here in Hell. They had been allies for a short while, but Crowley didn't really need him any more. Let Xavier deal with Metatron. He hated his own kind anyway; let Metatron wreak havoc in Heaven. Maybe even kill an Angel or ten; the less Angels the better, as far as Crowley was concerned. He wondered how Jason was coming along with his investigation. Crowley had been hoping to receive word that Castiel had been apprehended after his sojourn to Earth to assist Jason, but Xavier had advised via the Hotline that the Angels were still at large. Crowley had been surprised. What more did Jason need? He'd had two humans and a barely-trained female Angel at his mercy, and he had obviously bungled the job. Not exactly living up to his reputation as a ruthless deal-closer, was Jason.

So things remained status quo for the moment, and Metatron was here in Crowley's office once again.

"How are things going?" Metatron asked Crowley, plopping down into the chair opposite. Crowley had taken to locking his office door when communicating with Xavier, cutting Metatron out of the loop.

"They aren't," Crowley said shortly. He was annoyed with the situation as it was without having to deal with Metatron. But he could understand why Metatron had an interest in the proceedings. Although how a denizen of Hell thought he'd be welcomed back into Heaven with open arms was beyond Crowley. But that wasn't his problem. The object was to get rid of him, not to care about what happened to him when he got there. And Crowley wasn't concerned about how Metatron, who was now a Demon, could get into Heaven as an Angel. They were both Originals, and Crowley hadn't been lying when he'd told Sam that there were things Originals could do that weren't in the lore. When it was time, the deed could be done.

"What do you mean, they aren't?" Metatron asked Crowley. "I thought Jason had the Winchesters and the Angel Gail."

"He did," Crowley said dryly, "and then, he didn't."

Metatron was dismayed. Like Crowley, he'd believed that once Jason had those three right in front of him, Castiel would have had no choice but to surrender himself, and the tribunal would finally proceed. Which was something Metatron wanted very much. He was just as tired of being here as Crowley was of having him around. He had nothing to do here, and Metatron felt that Demons were beneath him. He needed to get back to Heaven, where he could be productive again. He hadn't been to his office in a long, long time. A while back, Chuck had been there, and apparently, his office had been kept in its original condition, undisturbed. Metatron smirked inwardly. He could almost picture a ribbon of yellow police tape like they used on Earth around his office. All the Angels too scared to enter the Big Bad Wolf's domain. Which was a good thing. Metatron didn't want anyone touching his things. There was one very big thing he had hidden there before being carted off to Heaven's prison, a game-changer, in fact. He was confident it hadn't been discovered, or he wouldn't be sitting here right now, nor would Crowley. Once Metatron was reinstated in Heaven, he'd have to figure out the best way to put the Demon Tablet to good use. Crowley had put him to work in Hell's oven, killed him, and subjected him to torture, nearly breaking him. Metatron may have been an Angel for most of his existence, but he never forgot, and he never forgave.

But for now, he had no choice but to bide his time until those incompetents in Heaven got their act together and took care of business.

"This is taking too long," Metatron complained to Crowley. "What's Xavier doing?"

Crowley was annoyed. How the hell should he know? The last he'd talked to Xavier, Jason was regrouping, licking his wounds after being humiliated by the Angels. He happened to agree with Metatron, though. This WAS taking too long.

"Obviously, not enough," Crowley responded.

"And the Prophets have been of no assistance?" Metatron asked.

"Prophets?"

"Kevin, and Chuck," Metatron said.

Crowley frowned. "Chuck? I was under the impression that God had figuratively emasculated Chuck before sending him down to me."

"Maybe," Metatron mused. "But I'm not so convinced. Anyway, they have Kevin on staff. Surely he can tell them something, give them something to go on?"

Crowley thought about this. He knew young Kevin very well. He had tormented the Prophet enough when he'd been a human, in an effort to persuade him to translate the Demon Tablet. He'd kidnapped Kevin's mother, but she'd been rescued by the Winchesters and presumably still lived. Crowley wondered if Xavier and Jason knew that. Crowley knew what he would do in their shoes.

So did Metatron. "I think another call to Xavier might be in order," he advised Crowley, smiling.

But Crowley was already picking up the phone.

When Xavier answered, Crowley said, "If I'm going to continue to do your job for you, you'd better start paying me commission."

"What are you taking about?" Xavier said testily. He was still angry about Jason's failed attempt to recover the Angels, and though that hadn't been Crowley's fault, Xavier was in no mood.

"You have Kevin Tran on staff as the Prophet, do you not?" Crowley prompted.

"Do you think we had not thought of that?" Xavier retorted. "Jason and I already spoke to him. He has had no visions of the Angels, or the humans, for that matter."

"And you just took his word for it?" Crowley said, incredulous.

"I believed him," Xavier said firmly. Jason had been a little more skeptical, he recalled. Who was right?

"Sam and Dean were his friends on Earth," Crowley pointed out, "and Castiel was their friend. Think about it. He's either lying, or he's not trying hard enough. Young Kevin works best when he has a little...incentive." Crowley smiled thinly, remembering how he himself had chopped off one of Kevin's fingers to persuade him to translate the Demon tablet.

"Incentive? Such as?" Xavier said.

Was Xavier really this thick? Crowley wondered. Or was he just reluctant to do what needed to be done? Either way, that was no way for a leader to be. You had to make the hard decisions when you were in charge. Crowley knew all about that. Heaven was going to flounder under Xavier's rule if he continued to be so ineffectual. Not that Crowley cared about that, of course. Just one more incentive for him to help Xavier in his bid to take over. Castiel never could have been allowed to take over Heaven from Crowley's viewpoint, anyway. He'd just ride into Hell with an army, slicing and dicing, and Crowley would be finished. Now that Bobby was likely out of play for good, Crowley needed to help push Xavier's agenda. So he suppressed his anger for the moment.

"Kevin's mother was still alive on Earth the last I remember," Crowley told Xavier. "Perhaps you should have Jason pay her a visit." He smiled then. "If he's patched his face up from his last trip to Earth, that is."

Xavier was momentarily stunned. He understood what Crowley was getting at. He was an Angel, the acting God. Xavier's first thought should have been: How could I even consider what he is suggesting? But instead, it was: How did I not think of that?

Rowena was kneeling before Bobby, touching his face and speaking softly to him in her singsong Scottish accent.

"I've missed you, dearie," she was saying.

Tears blurred Bobby's eyes. He knew it was wrong, but he just wanted to hold her one last time. He reached out for her and - pop! - she was gone, replaced by Lucifer's grinning face. "Gotcha," he said softly, then he retreated back to the far corner of the cage, savouring the look on Bobby's face.

Damn him and his parlour tricks, Bobby thought. Lucifer had been preying on his mind ever since that first incident with the bottle of bourbon, and he was starting to get to Bobby. Rowena had been his soft spot in life, and the damn Devil knew it. Lucifer knew everything about Bobby's past; his hopes, his dreams, his fears and his sins, and his dalliance with Rowena had ended up being his biggest sin of all. He had blinded himself to what she really was, although he had not known WHO she really was until he'd read the Prophecies. But despite it all, he still felt something for her. Lucifer knew that, of course, and he had been exploiting it to amuse himself. Bobby's thoughts were an open book to Lucifer, and he was enjoying riffling through the pages. Alcoholism, murder, sex with the mother of the King of Hell...Bobby's mind was like a steamy novel with a riveting plot, and Lucifer just couldn't put it down.

Gail was packing their clothes and meager possessions into the travel bags when Castiel turned to her and said, "I need some fresh air. I'll be back in a minute."

She looked at him curiously, but said nothing as he opened the door to the room and exited, closing it softly behind him.

What was that all about? she wondered. It was unlike him. Usually she'd been the one to make the sudden exits. Maybe he just did want some fresh air. She took her time packing, then sat in a chair, waiting for him to return, giving him his space.

Castiel walked out into the morning air and took a deep breath. He hadn't really come out here for fresh air, but now that he was out here, it actually was very nice. They'd decided to get an early start. Today was the day they would cross over into Canada, and they both hadn't wanted to wait any longer to get there. The early morning air was cool and still crisp, and all was quiet around the motel. Just the way he liked it, and the perfect atmosphere for his real purpose in having come out here.

"Father," he prayed, "I don't know if You're there or can hear me, but I just wanted to say thank you for keeping us all safe, and for getting us this far. I can sense Your hand in all this. I know You're retired, so I won't be bothering You again. But please look in on us every now and then if You have the time. And please help me to keep her from harm, and can You watch over Sam and Dean?" The morning breeze rustled through the trees suddenly, and blew Castiel's hair back from his face, and it almost felt like a caress. He closed his eyes, picturing his Father's smile. He'd take that as a yes.

Castiel smiled, and then he turned to go back, to collect the bags and his partner.

Dean was drying off after his shower, and he took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His eyes no longer automatically went to the place on his arm where the Mark of Cain had been; he had finally accepted that it was well and truly gone. He hadn't told anyone, not even Sam, but for the longest time Dean had honestly thought that Crowley had been just screwing with him and the Mark would just reappear one day, redder and angrier than ever. But Crowley had taken it back, relieving Dean of his burden. Dean supposed Crowley no longer had it either. Cas had killed Crowley that day, and Rowena had reanimated her son from Fergus McLeod's bones.

It seemed like Crowley would go on forever, Dean thought, shaking his head. He had gotten away with so much for so long, and recently he had held Gail's brother over her head, seemingly just for spite. But Dean sometimes wondered about Crowley. They'd had their chances to kill him, but he'd also had plenty of chances to kill them, and he hadn't. He had even revived Sam and Dean from death in Dallas. Not only had Dean wondered how that had been possible, but he had wondered why. Why was it that Crowley still allowed them to live? He'd had the two of them in Hell, and had let them go. And then, just recently, Crowley and Frank had stood in front of him and Sam, two Demons and two humans, before any Angels had arrived on the scene, and Crowley had not made a move. Why not? It made no sense to Dean. He certainly would have.

Or would he? As many chances as Crowley had had to kill them, especially lately, he and Sam had been presented with their chances too, and they had not done it. Why? It was almost as if they needed to keep each other alive and still in the game.

Dean shook his head again, as if to chase away that thought. It was crazy. What the hell was the matter with him? Dean wasn't a big fan of introspection, and this was probably why. If he was going to start thinking thoughts like that, he'd better stop right away.

He came out of the bathroom with the towel still wrapped around his waist. "Beer me, Sammy," Dean said. He needed to wash his thoughts about Crowley away, pronto.

Sam had been deep in thought too, while Dean was in the shower.

He was thinking about Bobby, and about the tribunal. The silence from Bobby had become deafening, and Sam was highly suspicious now. He couldn't believe he hadn't stopped to realize it before: Bobby, the existing God, had gone missing, and the only other candidate for God's job was being persecuted. What did these two facts have in common, or rather, who? Xavier, of course. Was he responsible for Bobby's disappearance? But how could he be? Bobby had Godlike powers; how could Xavier have gotten rid of him? Had he killed Bobby? No, Sam couldn't accept that. He just had the feeling that Bobby was still alive, somewhere. But where, and why had he not tried to contact Cas on Angel Radio? Even if Bobby were being held prisoner somewhere, somehow, shouldn't he at least have been able to send out an SOS?

Sam's brain was working on the world's most confusing jigsaw puzzle, but there were too many pieces missing, and it was driving him crazy. When Dean came out from the shower, Sam got them both a beer, and they talked about the upcoming case and a few other subjects. They wondered how Cas and Gail were doing, and whether they'd gotten to their destination yet. Or did they even have one? Sam had the feeling they did, and he had done some more noodling around on the computer only to come up with one conclusion, and he shared this with Dean now.

"I think they're going to Canada," Sam said.

"Canada?" Dean was startled. "Why the hell would they go there? Why would anyone go there?"

"Canada's very nice, Dean," Sam said patiently.

"How would you know?" Dean retorted.

"I've seen a lot of pictures online," Sam told him, "and I hear the people there are really nice, too."

Dean smirked. "Well, I guess that would be the place for two Angels. That is, if Angels were really - you know, Angelic."

The brothers looked at each other, and their smiles faded. Dean's attempt at humour fell flat as they both thought about Jason, and when he would be coming back for them.

God had heard Castiel's prayer, and He had blown gently to create the breeze that had ruffled his Son's hair. He had also heard Gail's prayer several days earlier, but He had not sent her a sign. While being touched that she had been the first to contact Him and had primarily asked Him to help his Son and the Winchesters, the time was not yet right for Him to intervene. He would have to, eventually. He knew that now. God had been hoping that Xavier would back off and realize how wrong he was, how low he was sinking in his hunger for power. But the situation was getting worse, and would worsen still before God stepped in. He was waiting to see which of His children would prove themselves worthy of His guardianship, and which were beyond saving. And until He received this proof, He would do nothing. But He had taken pity on His favourite Son and sent that one tiny acknowledgement that He had heard and was watching over them. That was the least He could do, He supposed. He was gratified to know that some of His children still acknowledged His existence, while others were turning their backs on Him and everything He thought He'd taught them to believe in. But in that way He had, it seemed like the ones who were the most loyal to Him would be the ones that would be tested the most severely.

They had just entered the Bellingham city limits when Gail turned to Cas and said, "Find the first exit you can and pull into the parking lot of a big store. Try to park as far away from the store and the other cars as you can."

He looked at her inquiringly, but did as she requested. Castiel remembered his vow to act on whatever she said. There was a reason for it, he was sure, and once they were off the road, she would explain.

When he found the parking lot of a large outlet mall, Cas parked the car at the very edge and shut off the engine. There were very few cars in the lot due to the early hour and Gail nodded. This would do.

She turned to Castiel. "I've been thinking about this for a while. You know, we technically stole this car."

He looked startled. He had not thought about that. "You're right," Castiel said, distressed.

"There's not much we can do about it now," Gail continued. "We needed it to get here. But we're going to leave it here and find a phone booth, call them, and let them know where it is. Anonymously, of course. I didn't want to go into Canada with something that doesn't belong to us, and we can't drive across the border, anyway."

Castiel looked at her, happy that she was reluctant to break a Commandment even though they were on the run from Heaven. Thinking of the irony, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. But she was right; how were they going to get across the border without a car or any identification? He asked her this now.

"How else?" she said, smiling. She took his hand and he understood.

5 - HONOUR THY PARENTS

A couple of weeks after her beloved had settled into his apartment in Vancouver with his beloved, Aurielle was starting to lose it.

There had seemingly been no progress at all in locating Castiel, and she had been sitting at her desk for days with nothing to do. Xavier had cloistered himself away in God's office, and she hadn't seen him in days. The last time she had seen Xavier, he had rushed past her into his former office, taken something out of the cabinet beside his desk, and rushed right back out again, not even sparing her a glance.

What had that been all about? Aurielle had tried to speak to him, but he had ignored her. She knew that her boss had been very angry that they seemed to be no closer to holding the tribunal than they had been since that first day, when he'd realized that Castiel was not going to come. And Aurielle was angry, too. With every day that passed, her need to see Castiel and be close to him was consuming her, and her hatred for Gail was intensifying. Gail was the one that was keeping him away from Heaven. Aurielle was sure that Castiel would have been here by now if he'd been free of Gail's spell.

With nothing else to do but wait, Aurielle had been leafing through the spell book she had kept in her bottom drawer. The information contained in it was nothing short of astonishing. There were spells for everything, it seemed; as long as you could get your hands on the right ingedients, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted, have anything you desired. This must be what Gail had used to make Castiel think he was in love with her. Aurielle knew it was wrong, but the more spells she read, the more entranced she became. She could understand why Gail had done what she had done, she thought. This book was like a recipe book, with instructions on how to achieve your fondest desires. This must be why Gail had led such a charmed life up to this point. Because, in Aurielle's mind, Gail had it all, and Aurielle had nothing.

She ought to give that little tramp a taste of her own medicine, Aurielle fumed. There were all manner of hexes and curses in this book as well. Let Gail see what it was like to suffer, as she had made Castiel suffer. As she was making Aurielle suffer now.

A tiny voice inside Aurielle's head, the last vestige of sanity she had, asked her what she could possibly be thinking. This was witchcraft she was contemplating, dark magic. Aurielle had been an Angel for many years, and before she had allowed herself to be corrupted by Chuck, she had been a good and dutiful Angel. What would her Father think of her now?

Aurielle closed the book and put it back in her desk drawer. Maybe she should think about this a bit more.

She rose from her desk and walked over to the cubicle she'd shared with Becky. Becky was chatty and very annoying at times, but she was also the closest thing Aurielle had ever had to a friend. Aurielle had been a timid and socially awkward Angel during her first incarnation in Heaven, and she had been living in a fantasy world even then. Perhaps that was why she felt an affinity for Becky. They had never specifically talked about it, but both girls were in love with someone who was out of their reach, and both were in denial about the latter fact.

Aurielle had decided to confide in Becky, tell her friend about her true feelings for Castiel. Perhaps Becky could give her some advice on how to deal with her obsession, knock some sense into her before it was too late.

"Hi, Aurielle," Becky said brightly. She'd missed Aurielle since her friend had been put on the tribunal project. They'd hardly had any time to chat lately.

"Hi, Becky," Aurielle said, sitting down in her old chair across from Becky. "Have you got a minute? I really need to talk to you."

Becky turned away from her computer screen. "Sure, Aurielle." Truthfully, Becky had wanted to talk to a friend, too. "What's up?"

Aurielle sighed. Now that she was here, she didn't really know how to start the conversation. But she forced herself to say, "You know how I told you I had a little crush on Castiel?"

Becky perked up. This was one of her favourite subjects, and it was like Aurielle had read her mind. She'd been bursting to talk about Sam. Becky had hoped that Gail would have returned to Heaven by now. No offense to Aurielle, but Gail would have been preferable; after all, she knew Sam, and she hung around with him. Or at least, she did before she and Castiel had apparently run away together. In that way that Becky had of ignoring unpleasant facts, she had chosen to view Castiel and Gail's flight from the tribunal as romantic. But, though she was disappointed not having Gail to talk to, her was Aurielle, providing the conversational opening.

Becky smiled at Aurielle. "Yeah?" she said, prompting her friend.

"Wel..." Aurielle hesitated just once more, then took the plunge. "I guess I have a bit more than a little crush," she admitted.

Becky understood. Boy, did she understand. "I know what you mean," she said, smiling. But not really understanding at all. "I was just about to tell you the same thing about me."

Aurielle's expression darkened. Not Becky, too!

Becky saw the look on Aurielle's face and quickly amended, "No!" She giggled. "I meant that I'm in love with Sam!" Becky was so relieved to finally be able to confide in a girlfriend about her feelings that she misunderstood what Aurielle was actually trying to tell her. To Becky, Aurielle was just another "Cas Girl", not unlike the many others she had met at the Supernatural convention. The ones who were devoted to Castiel, the fictional character in the books and on the TV show. Those girls were in love with Castiel as they imagined him to be. But Becky and Aurielle were in the enviable position of knowing that Castiel was real, and Becky thought he was a pretty terrific guy from what she'd seen and heard. So she could understand how Aurielle could be in love with him. Becky's definition of love was innocent, naive.

"I don't blame you for being in love with Castiel, though," Becky hastened to add. She didn't want her friend to think she was judging her.

Aurielle had mixed feelings at that point. On the one hand, she was glad that Becky seemed to understand the depth of her love for Castiel and didn't condemn her for it. On the other hand, Becky had just confessed that she in turn loved Sam Winchester, one of the humans who'd been such a bad influence on Castiel. But then Aurielle realized this could be a winning situation for both herself and Becky. If they were to help each other, she could be with Castiel here in Heaven, and Becky could be with Sam on Earth. But how to accomplish that?

The obvious answer, and the one Aurielle kept coming back to, was that Gail needed to be removed from the equasion, one way or the other. If she were gone, Aurielle could begin her campaign to win Castiel's heart, and Becky could take Gail's place on Earth with Sam. It was the perfect solution.

Aurielle smiled at Becky, happy to have finally unburdened herself. And even though she didn't understand Becky's love for a human, and one of those Winchesters to boot, Becky wasn't judging her for loving Castiel, so Aurielle would not judge her friend either. Well, not to her face, anyway.

Feeling so benevolent, Aurielle decided she could wait for the tribunal hearing. She may not even need to act. From looking at all the documents she had prepared for Xavier, it seemed certain that Gail would be convicted on Count 7 and sent to Heaven's prison. She would then be out of the way, and Aurielle and Becky could then begin working on achieving their mutual goal: being with the men they loved. That would be the ideal scenario. The whisper of conscience that Aurielle still had was telling her that she could still get what she needed without having to resort to the dark magic contained in the spell book. She prayed that she would not be forced to use it.

Lucifer had already appeared as Rowena, and now he was Bobby's father, drunk as usual and raving at his son. Calling him worthless, weak, saying Bobby wasn't ever going to amount to anything. A typical day in the Singer household, in other words. Bobby closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at his father, but he could still hear him, of course. Bobby remembered his father yelling at his mother when what she'd made for supper wasn't to his liking, and backhanding her in the kitchen. His mother slumping to the floor, dissolving into tears. Bobby had watched, horrified, as his father had ordered his mother to get up and get him another drink. And his mother had actually gotten up off the floor and done it. Then she'd spotted Bobby watching through the crack in the kitchen door and shaken her head at him, motioning for him to retreat.

Bobby had run upstairs to his room and thrown himself on the bed, crying in anger and frustration. He wanted so much to love his parents, but they made it so hard.

His father hadn't always been like this. Bobby could remember the good times, when his dad had still been working at the factory. He used to come home whistling, giving his wife a hug and a kiss at the door and tousling his son's hair. Sometimes he'd bring Bobby a present for no reason at all, just because. Bobby's favourite presents were the toy cars his dad would sometimes bring him. He had them all proudly displayed on the shelf his dad had built for him in his room, and he would take them down and play with them from time to time. But always carefully; they were his most prized possessions. That must be why he'd become a mechanic in his adult life; cars were his first love.

But then Bobby's father got laid off from his job. He'd applied for a number of other jobs around town, but there were too few jobs and too many men to fill the jobs that were available. His dad was a proud and stubborn man, and he refused to even consider going on social assistance. As the weeks turned into months, Bobby's father had gone from having a few with the boys to bringing a case of beer home to buying several bottles of whiskey at a time. And that had been it. He had sunk into the pit of despair and alcoholism, and had given up on life.

The first time Bobby's father hit his mother was when she'd tentatively broached the subject: Maybe she should get a job for the time being. Their savings account was eroding fast, and Bobby was growing like a weed and needed new clothes.

Her husband looked at her, his guts churning. So, she thought he was a failure too, couldn't provide for his family. She assured him that wasn't the case, but they had to face reality, didn't they?

Reality? his dad had asked her. You want reality? Then, out of nowhere, he hit his wife in the face. Bobby could still remember the sound of that first blow; it had sounded like an explosion. And in a way, it had been. At that moment, his family had been blown apart.

But his mother had actually apologized to his father that night, saying she'd been wrong to suggest getting a job. His father had nodded, satisfied with her apology. Damn right.

After that first time, life at home had been an endless loop: his father, drunk and ranting to his family about something, real or imagined. His mother, trying her best to mollify him and be invisible at the same time. Bobby walking on eggshells around them both, then running up to his room as soon as his dad gave him permission to leave the table. He no longer played with his toy cars, but Bobby would sometimes just sit on his bed and stare at them. He was still a child, but his mind had developed enough for him to know that his family could never go back to the way things were.

He'd hated his father then, which was pretty well understandable. But Bobby's secret shame was that he'd grown to hate his mother, also. How could she just let her husband wail on her that way and not do anything about it? More often than not, SHE ended up apologizing to HIM. Didn't she have any respect for herself? If it had been him, he would have just thrown his father's dinner in his face, and if he didn't like that, there were plenty of big knives in the utensil drawer. Bobby wasn't saying he wanted his mother to kill his father or anything; maybe just swing it at him, cut him once or twice to make him keep his fists to himself.

Bobby had seen his father looking at him after hitting his mother, almost like he was daring him to do something about it. But what could Bobby do? He was still a child, and his dad looked about as big as Paul Bunyan to him.

Life went on like that for a few more years, and finally, when Bobby had filled out a bit and grown a few more inches, he felt ready to stand up to his father. Next time his dad laid one finger on his mom, Bobby was going to punch his lights out or die trying.

But then Bobby had come home from school one day and found his father dead on the living room couch. He'd thought he was passed out, not an unusual occurrence, so Bobby had gone up to his room to study. When his mom got back from shopping, she had apparently tried to revive his dad, but it was too late. He had passed out, and had choked to death on his own vomit. Bobby could still hear his mother screaming when her attempts to resuscitate her husband failed. Then he'd known, and his first reaction had been joy. Now he and his mother would be free. He'd stayed in his room, smiling grimly, trying to focus on his homework. Bobby was going to make something of himself, prove his father wrong. Then, when he had made lots of money, he was going to buy a nice house for him and his mother. They could sell this dump and put the bad memories associated with it behind them.

Bobby had been in his room for a while when he realized that his mother had stopped screaming and crying, and the sudden silence was almost eerie. He supposed he had to go downstairs now, see what his mother was doing. If she was too upset to do it, he'd have to call the cops. Get them to take the body away.

He walked into the living room and saw the horrifying sight: His mother had finally taken one of the knives out of that kitchen drawer and slashed her wrists and her throat with it, and her body lay on top of her husband's. He could see the tears that she'd cried for the drunken bastard still wet on her cheeks.

Bobby sat in Lucifer's cage, snivelling like the little boy he'd been, and feeling like that child now. A part of his brain knew that this was Lucifer, just screwing with him, but that part was very small now, and fading fast.

"I made something of myself, Dad," Bobby cried. "I was a good man, a Hunter. I helped lots of people. I was even God."

"God?" his father sneered. "You weren't God. You were his janitor. He left Heaven and handed you a mop to clean up his messes. And you couldn't even do that right. Xavier is running Heaven now, the real God is gone, and your friends will all die."

Suddenly, Lucifer changed back to himself, and he was grinning. "And you and I will be besties, for all eternity. Way to make something of yourself, Bobby. Oh, and your parents are both here, of course. Maybe we should see if they can drop by for a visit."

He retreated to his corner then, having delivered the coup de grace. Lucifer could see the light going out of Bobby'e eyes, and the fight going along with it. Bobby was his now.

Gail was counting out the last of their money, and she was growing concerned. Vancouver was beautiful, but it was expensive. They could just make next month's rent, and that was pretty much it.

She looked up at Castiel, who was looking out the window. Their apartment did have a lovely view of the waterfront and the mountains, and he never tired of the sight. She should probably have been more practical and picked a cheaper place to live when they'd first arrived. But Castiel had been so entranced with the view that she had softened and they had taken this place.

She sighed, putting the money back into her purse. "Let's go for a walk," she said to Castiel.

They walked along the seawall, enjoying the sunny day and the breeze coming off the water.

"We're going to have to start applying for jobs," Gail told Castiel. She hated to spoil the atmosphere, but they couldn't push aside reality any longer. It had been a nice couple of weeks, though. This really was a beautiful place, and they had enjoyed exploring their new surroundings. It was nice walking around the neighbourhood, not having to worry about one of their enemies popping around the corner holding an Angel blade. It seemed like everywhere they went, there were happy, smiling people, and the weather for the past couple of weeks had been glorious. They had walked hand in hand for blocks and blocks, first in one direction and then the other, acquainting themselves with their new surroundings.

It had really been idyllic. The day they'd winked themselves across the border, Gail had gotten that cell phone she'd promised herself and they'd spoken to Sam and Dean. The brothers were safe, and so far they had seen no sign of Jason or anyone else associated with Heaven. Gail had promised to call them to check in at least once a week, and they now had the number for her phone memorized, too.

Castiel stopped and looked at her now. "Okay," he said. "How do we do that?"

That's right, he wouldn't know, would he? She was amused, but her brow furrowed. "Good question," she replied. "Normally, we would have to have resumes. A resume is - "

But he stopped her. "I know what a resume is. As I recall, you once said that mine was...extensive." His mouth twitched.

Castiel had been going for humour, seeing how worried Gail was about their monetary situation, but he had unintentionally touched a nerve.

"I know what you were going for, but please don't joke about that," she said, frowning. "That was not exactly my most shining moment."

He reached out and drew her to him. "I'm sorry, Gail. I could see how worried you were, and I was just trying to cheer you."

"I know," she said, touching his face. He kissed the palm of her hand and then reclaimed her hand in his own.

"Let's keep walking," Cas said to her. "We'll think of something."

Gail smiled thinly. Easy for him to say. But they had no resumes, no I.D., and Cas had no job experience. Gail hadn't worked in a while either, not since the odd jobs she'd taken here and there while on the road with Frank. And nothing since she and Frank had been kidnapped by Crowley's Demons. What were she and Castiel supposed to put on a resume? Last job: Angel. Job description: Serving God. Where do you see yourself in 5 years: Hopefully still alive?

But they walked on for a bit longer, and then Gail saw the casino and the wheels in her mind started to spin.

This time she was the one to stop. "Do you think you might be able to reproduce what you did in Las Vegas?" Gail said to Cas.

He didn't understand at first, but Gail pointed to the building she was looking at, and then he got it. He started to smile.

"Minus the fight, of course," she quipped.

Cas looked at her and his smile grew into a grin. Not that he was exactly proud of it, but that was a good memory nonetheless.

"I don't see why not," he told her.

She hoped so. It was a pretty crazy idea, and she was sure a lot of humans had gotten into trouble thinking what they were thinking now. But considering their position, they had to try something unorthodox. This could be a way to earn some money without resorting to stealing, which they were both adamantly against in any form.

Cas and Gail walked into the poker room. A tournament was announced to be starting in the next half hour, but Castiel didn't feel the prize was enough when weighed against the time it would take to play. Assuming he didn't get knocked out by one bad hand, of course.

"I'm going on the list for the high limit table," he told Gail.

She hesitated. Yes, he'd done extremely well there in Vegas, but should they really risk the money they already had to try to get more that they didn't yet have? Did that even make sense?

Cas could see her hesitation. "Do you trust me?" he asked her, taking both of her hands in his.

He would have to put it that way. She sighed. "Of course I trust you," she replied. Gail opened her purse and gave Castiel their money.

Just before the tournament was about to start, Castiel took his seat at the high limit table. Gail felt too nervous to watch, so she kissed his forehead and wished him luck, and she began to roam around the poker room.

She overheard two men talking by the reception desk of the poker room. "I don't know how we're going to do it," the taller man said to the other one. "We've got the tournament starting, a bunch of other tables going, the phones are ringing off the hook, and we're both supposed to be on the floor."

"I can answer phones," Gail quipped as she walked past the men.

They looked at each other, then at her. "Who are you?" the shorter man said.

"Me? Nobody," Gail said. Had she offended them or something? "My boyfriend's playing, and I'm just hanging around." Gail gestured to the table where Cas was sitting. Then she looked at the men again. "I really could answer some phones, if you want. I've got nothing else to do at the moment."

The dealer supervisors considered this for a minute. "Frankly, we could use the help. We're extremely short-handed, and we're supposed to be out there," the taller man said, gesturing to the tables.

Why not? Gail thought. This could be fun. Or a total disaster. But she really did have nothing better to do at the moment.

"I'm Barry," the taller man said. He nodded to the other man. "Go," he told him. "I'll be right there."

"Gail," she said to him.

"OK, Gail, come with me," Barry said. She followed him behind the reception desk and he showed her the phones and the computer screen where the names for the waiting list were to be entered. Seemed easy enough, she thought, and she sat down and started taking phone calls and entering players' names on the screen.

"When the guys come in - and the women," Barry hastily added, "they'll come up here to be checked in, and when there's an opening at a table, we'll call you on this -" he picked up a walkie talkie - "and you'll call the next name on the list over this microphone." Oh. Okay, then, she thought. I can do that.

Barry turned to leave, then he turned back. "Oh, and could you keep an eye on the tournament clock and announce the rounds as they start?" he asked her. "And then you can start the clock for the next round, like so," he showed her on a second computer screen.

He was kidding, right? She didn't work here, she'd just offered to pick up a few calls while she was hanging around waiting for Cas. How could she possibly be expected to do all that at the same time? But then Gail thought about it. If she succeeded in showing these guys she could do it, maybe she could talk herself into getting a job. It was worth a shot. She had nothing to lose.

About two hours later, the tournament was ending and Barry walked up to the desk accopanied by a woman in a business suit. "Gail, this is Gloria," Barry said. "She's the poker room manager."

"Hi," Gail said to the woman. "Just a second." She'd noticed the clock winding down on that round in the tournament. There were still two players left, so Gail reset the clock and announced the next round over the microphone. "Sorry," she said to Barry and Gloria.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Gloria asked Gail. "Barry, take over," she directed him.

Gloria moved to the side of the desk, and Gail got up from her seat and followed. She hoped Gloria wasn't angry at Barry for enlisting her help.

"I've been watching you for a while," Gloria said to Gail.

Had she? Gail had been so busy she hadn't even noticed. The time had just flown by. She wondered how Cas was doing. He must be doing OK, otherwise she would have seen him at the desk. Gail risked a glance at the high limit alcove. Yep, he was still there.

Gloria smiled then. "How would you like to work here, full-time?"

Gail couldn't believe it. "I'd like that," she replied, trying not to sound too eager. "I'm between jobs at the moment, and I really enjoyed helping out."

"Come with me to my office and we'll fill out the paperwork, then," Gloria said.

Gail's heart sank. This was the sticky part. She really wanted the job, but she had no I.D., no bank account, and she shouldn't even be using her real name. Then she had an idea.

"About that..." Gail began. Gloria looked at her questioningly. Gail continued, "Do you think we could forgo the paperwork and work something out under the table?" Gloria's eyebrows raised. Gail went on, improvising. "My ex is looking for me. I have a restraining order against him, but I've been in hiding from him for a while. He's found me twice before, and this time I don't want to leave any sort of a paper trail for him to pick up on." Gail affected a pleading look. "My boyfriend is playing in your High Limit room right now, and he's great, but he can't protect me 24/7." Wasn't that the truth, Gail thought. The best stories are those you don't have to totally make up. "I know we just met, but I'm hoping you can help me out. One woman to another," Gail finished.

Gloria appeared to be considering, and Gail held her breath.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Gloria asked.

Gail pointed at Cas. "There. The one in the blue shirt and black pants." Cas had worn his Earthly clothes ever since they'd arrived here in Vancouver, symbolic perhaps of their fresh start. Gail never got tired of seeing him in them.

"The one with the racks of chips beside him?" Gloria asked. "Must be several thousand there."

She was observant, Gail thought. Gail herself hadn't even noticed that until Gloria had pointed it out.

"Yeah, that's him," Gail said, smiling.

Gloria looked at Gail. "Does he have a job?" she asked Gail.

Why was she asking? Gail wondered. She was used to having her guard up. But she had to remind herself that Gloria was a prosepctive employer; she had a right to ask a few questions, especially considering what Gail was asking her to do.

"We just moved here. We needed a new start, after my ex-boyfriend found me the last time." Boy, what a tale she was spinning. If this worked out, Gail would have to brief Cas. Thank goodness there wasn't a Commandment about lying. Per se. She had a sudden inspiration and added, "If I'm working here, he'll probably be here a lot. He likes to keep an eye on me, make sure I'm safe." Might as well end with the truth.

Gloria thought for another moment. As Gail had hoped, the manager was thinking it wouldn't hurt to add another regular High-Limit player. And Gail had done a good job here today. But what kind of people were they? Gloria ran a clean poker room; she didn't want any trouble.

"Ask him to reserve for a minute," Gloria said to Gail. "I'd like to meet him."

Well, she hadn't said no yet, Gail thought. What the hell. She walked over to Cas's table and waited for the hand to conclude, then leaned down and said in his ear, "Reserve for a minute. There's someone who wants to meet you."

He looked up at her, curious, but did as she asked.

"Go along with whatever I say," Gail said to him softly as he followed her to where Gloria stood.

"This is Gloria, the poker room manager," Gail said to Cas. "We were talking about a possible job for me here."

His eyebrows raised, but he smiled at Gloria and offered her his hand to shake. As they shook, he looked inquiringly at Gail. Were they using their real names?

They'd talked about this when they first got here, but a decision hadn't been reached and this was the first time the subject had come up. They'd kept to themselves until now, and they had used Cas's "two-finger system" to rent the apartment. But Gail realized she'd already given her true first name to Barry when he'd said his name. That ship had sailed.

She gave Castiel a small nod, and he said to Gloria, "I'm Cas. Pleased to meet you."

What a handsome man, Gloria thought. He looks a lot like that guy on that TV show they film here, Supernatural. She wondered if anyone had ever told him that before. But maybe she shouldn't bring it up on their first meeting. She'd noticed his look at Gail before introducing himself and thought he might be shy. A lot of poker players were; they used the game as a way to socialize without having to talk much to other people.

Cas slipped his arm around Gail's waist and she looked up at him, smiling. The little gesture of support on his part and the loving way these two were looking at each other tipped the scales for Gloria.

"Gail's been helping us out for the past couple of hours behind the desk," Gloria said to Cas.

"That was you?" Cas asked Gail, smiling. "I thought I recognized your lovely voice."

"She does have a very nice speaking voice," Gloria said. Their smiles were contagious, and she found herself smiling at the couple, too. "A couple of the players commented on it. And you're a great multi-tasker too, Gail."

Cas was happy to hear Gail praised that way, but he was puzzled at Gloria's next comment.

"I'm sorry you two have had some trouble," Gloria continued. "If you can assure me that there won't be anyone coming in here looking for you both, you've got the job, Gail. We'll work out an arrangement."

Cas frowned. What had Gail told her? Surely not the truth? But she had said for him to go along, and she was being offered a job.

"Thank you, Gloria," Gail said to her, relieved. She was also relieved that Cas hadn't said anything, although she'd seen him frown. "I can assure you there won't be any trouble here, and Cas can, too."

Gloria nodded, satisfied. "Good. Feel free to play here any time, Cas," she said to him. "Gail told me you like to be with her to keep her safe." She winked at Cas. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe here. All you stand to lose is your money."

Now he was really wondering what Gail had told this woman. Not that it wasn't the truth, of course. He did like to keep Gail safe. Gail must have told Gloria enough of the truth to convince her to offer her the job. Worked for him. Although if he continued to play as well as he was, she probably wouldn't need it. Maybe he had found his job, he thought, smiling inwardly.

"Can you start tomorrow? The daily tournament starts at 9 a.m., so if you can be here for 8 a.m. to get some more training, that would be great," Gloria said. She lowered her voice. "I'll have an envelope with your pay, in cash, at the end of each week. You'll have to work out how to pay your taxes yourself. But if my name comes up with the government, we've never met and you'll be out of a job. Are we clear?"

"Absolutely," Gail said. Then she turned to Cas. "Let's go," she told him. "Don't worry, he'll be back tomorrow," Gail said to Gloria. "But we need to celebrate."

Gloria smiled at the both of them, then moved away to tell Barry about their newest employee.

And when Cas cashed out, he had made $3,000. over their original investment. Gail tucked her hand into his arm as they left the casino. "Well, I guess we've both found a job," she said cheerfully. "Who would have ever thought that two Angels would be hanging around in a casino all day?"

They both laughed at that. "Well, we don't eat and we don't drink," Gail said to him. "How are we going to celebrate?"

Cas said, "Why don't we buy a TV for the apartment? We can afford it now."

Gail shook her head, smiling. Him and his TV. But he was right, they could afford it now, and it made him so happy. "Let's go shopping," she said.

Canada and casinos, Winchesters and werewolves.

That was all Chuck could think of lately. His vision had returned with a vengeance ever since he'd seen Gail in that bar, but it was only coming in fragments. Aside from the alliteration, what he was getting seemed to be nonsensical. OK, maybe not the Winchesters being associated with werewolves; they were Hunters, after all. But the word Hell kept cropping up when Chuck tried to concentrate on werewolves, and that made zero sense.

And Canada, casinos, and...Castiel? What was with all this alliteration, anyway? What was he, Dr. Seuss all of a sudden? Chuck had seen Castiel in Las Vegas not so long ago, and had died trying to protect him there, so maybe that association wasn't a stretch. But, Canada? What did that have to do with anything?

Chuck wasn't the Prophet any more, though, he was Heaven's librarian. But the visions were driving him nuts. When he couldn't take it any more, Chuck went to see the one person that might possibly understand what he was going through. If he would even talk to him, that was.

Kevin's door was open, and he looked up to see Chuck standing there. Great. That was all he needed. Kevin had been besieged with visions, and his were a lot more detailed than Chuck's. He knew exactly where Cas and Gail and Sam and Dean were, what they were doing, and that they were travelling separately but keeping in touch, though the Winchester brothers still didn't know where the Angels were. Lucky them, Kevin thought bitterly. They didn't have Jason breathing down their necks practically every day, looking for information. Kevin had still been pleading ignorance, but he knew Jason wasn't buying it. Jason had taken to issuing vague threats, but Kevin hadn't caved. How could he? There was no way he could give up his friends like that. When Kevin had seen the scars on Jason's cheeks and heard the rumours of how he had gotten cut, Kevin had felt like cheering. Way to go, Cas. But Kevin was afraid for his friends. He had the feeling that Jason was just waiting for the go-ahead to return to Earth and once he did, that would be it. Somebody was going to suffer at Jason's hands, Kevin was sure of it.

Kevin had been receiving another vision just before Chuck knocked, but this one had been frustratingly vague. He kept picturing Becky's friend Aurielle with some kind of a book. She was reading it, then preparing to toss it into a fireplace, then changing her mind and reading it again. Smiling as she read it. But he couldn't see any title on the book, just that it looked like a very old book. What the hell was this vision supposed to mean? He knew Aurielle was Becky's friend, but Kevin wasn't sure he liked her very much. She smiled when she saw him and talked normally enough, but there was something a little off-putting about her. Kevin couldn't quite put his finger on it. Once in a while, Aurielle got a peculiar look on her face, a bit of a faraway look, like she was looking at someone who was not in the room with them. And he just sensed an undercurrent of hostility in her, though there didn't seem to be any reason for it.

Then Chuck knocked on Kevin's door and snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Kevin, can I see you for a minute?" Chuck asked the young Prophet.

Kevin sighed. "What do you want, Chuck? I'm very busy."

Yeah, right. There was nothing on Kevin's desk, and his computer wasn't even on. He had just been sitting there, staring off into space. Mind you, that was part of the job description, as Chuck knew very well. It had looked like Kevin was receiving a vision.

Chuck closed the door behind him and he saw Kevin frown at that. So he put his hands up and said, "I come in peace, Kevin, I promise. I need to speak to you privately. Please."

Kevin regarded Chuck with suspicion. He didn't think he'd ever heard Chuck say the word "please" before. He sighed again. What the hell. "Have a seat, Chuck. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I've been having partial visions, and they're driving me crazy," Chuck told Kevin. "I needed to talk to somebody who knows what I'm going through."

Yeah, Kevin could relate, all right. He'd just been having a partial vision himself. It came with the job. Not that he would share that with Chuck, of course.

Kevin didn't speak, and Chuck knew that Kevin didn't trust him. And why should he?

"I know you don't trust me, Kevin, and I don't blame you. But I really have changed. I'll prove it to you. I've been having visions about Castiel and Gail, and Sam and Dean Winchester. And I haven't told a soul. And I won't, either. If I was still evil, I'd be running to Xavier, or Jason. But I want to help them somehow. I know that Jason's bad news, and they all need to be kept safe from him."

Chuck was saying all the right things, but Kevin remained skeptical. How did he know that Jason hadn't sent Chuck here to pump Kevin for information?

"If that's true, I don't see what I can do about it," Kevin said cautiously.

"If I tell you what I've seen, maybe we can compare notes and see if we can figure out how to help them, together," Chuck said.

Now the alarm bells were really going off. "I already told Jason, I have nothing to report," Kevin said tartly. If this was Chuck's attempt to pry anything out of him, he was going to have to try a lot harder than that, Kevin thought.

So that was it, Chuck thought. He thinks I'm working for Jason. It's certainly what I would have done in the old days. What could he say or do to convince Kevin that he was sincere?

"If I was still a bad guy, I wouldn't be here," Chuck said. "Bobby brought me back up here because he recognized that I've changed, and I have remorse for my actions. I want to atone for all my sins by helping Castiel now. And Gail, and Sam and Dean. Crowley killed me because I stood up to him, trying to protect Castiel. Ask Becky; she'll tell you."

Kevin was startled. Really? "Why don't I just call her now, then?" he said, reaching for the phone. Kevin was sure Chuck was going to stop him, but he surprised Kevin again by saying, "Go ahead. Please."

So Kevin called Becky and she confirmed that Chuck was telling the truth. Imagine that. Kevin hung up the phone and said, "Tell me what you've seen, Chuck."

Chuck told him everything he'd seen and guessed at, and Kevin was alarmed. Chuck's visions were a lot more vague than Kevin's were, but they were still right.

Now what? "Leave it with me, Chuck."

"What do you mean?" Chuck said, agitated.

"Just what I said," Kevin said calmly. "Leave it with me."

"Don't you understand, Kevin?" Chuck was raising his voice, but he couldn't help it. He knew that Kevin knew where they were, and while he understood Kevin's trust issues, time was of the essence here. The longer they waited, the worse the situation was going to get. "They're in danger! I know somebody's going to get hurt at Jason's hand, and we need to stop it!"

Kevin knew that too, he could feel it just like Chuck apparently could. But he needed to think a bit longer before deciding to throw in with Chuck.

"Bye, Chuck," he said, turning to his computer and turning it on so Chuck would get the message.

Chuck stood there, frustrated beyond words. Kevin would be sorry. But Chuck didn't say this out loud. Chuck didn't want Kevin to think he was threatening him. And Chuck wasn't; he just knew that something bad was going to happen. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Kevin shut his computer off once Chuck left his office. He had a bad feeling, too, a really bad feeling. But though he knew someone was going to die at Jason's hands, and soon, he just didn't know who it was going to be. Or what he could do to prevent it.

Crowley picked up the Hotline. "What do you want, Xavier?" he asked. "Or are you calling me with good news for a change?"

"I just wanted to let you know I've decided to move on Linda Tran," Xavier advised him grimly.

"What do you mean, you've decided?" Crowley said, exasperated. "We spoke two weeks ago! Why the delay?"

Xavier didn't know, exactly. He supposed he'd had a crisis of conscience after Crowley had suggested going after Kevin's mother in an effort to force his compliance. He'd liked young Kevin. Could he really be thinking about doing something so vile? That kind of thinking was for the likes of Crowley, not for God. But one week passed, then two, and when Jason advised they were no closer to apprehending the Angels, Xavier did not see that he had a choice.

"I had not wanted to descend to your level," Xavier replied stiffly, "but I am left with no alternative."

Crowley took the receiver away from his ear and looked at it disbelievingly. Was this guy kidding with this? Why the hell was he calling, anyway?

He asked Xavier this, through gritted teeth.

Xavier was again at a loss. Why HAD he called Crowley? Because Crowley was the only being he knew with a direct line to the Winchesters, he supposed. "We may need to involve the humans," Xavier advised Crowley. "I am going to send Jason to Earth to visit Mrs. Tran, but should that fail to work, if Kevin cannot or will not tell us anything, the Winchester humans can be our 'Plan B'. We can arrange for Mrs. Tran to call them with a plea for help, and then Jason can intercept and interrogate them when they arrive."

Crowley was angry at Xavier, but he had to admit he was impressed. Xavier was awfully holier-than-thou for a guy with such a diabolical mind.

"Congratulations for not descending to my level," Crowley said sarcastically. "As the acting God, you have now sunk lower. Pity you can't have your own tribunal; I've always been curious to see how Castiel would redecorate." He slammed the phone down. He supposed he would have to hear from Xavier again, either if this thing with Kevin's mother didn't work out or if Xavier needed Crowley to call the Winchesters to entrap them again. But hopefully, the inevitable call would be the happy news that the Angels were finally in custody. At this point, Crowley didn't care how it happened, he just needed it to happen soon, before he gave in to the urge to kill Xavier himself and take his chances with Castiel.

Gail was sitting cross-legged on the bed, watching Cas try to hook up the new TV they'd bought. She tried not to laugh as he stood there, puzzling, trying to figure out which wire went in which plug. He looked at her, helpless.

"Do you know anything about this?" Cas asked her.

"No," she had to admit. "Is there an instruction booklet?"

"Yes," he said, grabbing the booklet and riffling through the pages. "Twenty-five languages, and not one of them is English." His mouth twitched. "Or Enochian."

Now she did laugh.

"Here. See if you can figure it out." He tossed her the booklet, and she caught it neatly. One of the languages did appear to be English, but even though all the words were recognizable, they did not make any sense to her.

"Nope. Sorry." Gail smiled up at him. "I don't speak...whatever this is."

Cas shrugged. "No TV tonight, then, I guess."

Gail brightened. "You know who might know what to do?"

Cas nodded. "Call them." He smiled. "I know you've been dying to, anyway." She smiled back at him. He knew her, all right.

Gail grabbed her phone from the nightstand, where it sat in front of the picture of her and Cas that she had propped up against the lamp. Wherever they'd gone on their travels, the first thing she'd done was to take that photo out of her purse and put it on the nightstand by the bed. The place just didn't feel right until she'd done that. Cas found the habit endearing. He was glad he had asked the Winchesters to recover it from Las Vegas after she'd died.

"Hello?" Dean said.

"Hi, Dean!" Gail said. "How are you and Sam?"

He smiled. He knew what she really meant was: Have you and Sam been visited and/or tortured by any Angels lately?

"We're fine," he told her. "No sweat. How are you and Cas?" She knew what he really meant was: Have you been found yet?

"We're great," Gail replied. "In fact, I got a job today!" She was proud of herself, and had been bursting to tell the brothers.

Cas rushed forward. He didn't know if she should have told Dean that; it would surely lead to more questions.

Sure enough, Dean did have a question for her: "So, is Canada as nice as Sam says it is?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful - " she started to say, then realized what he'd just done. "Dean! What the hell?"

"What?" Cas said, alarmed.

"He knows," Gail told him, making a face. "You suck," she said into the phone, then handed it to Cas. "Here. You talk to him. Tell him I'm mad at him."

"Dean!" Cas said into the phone. "You know where we are? How?"

"Sam and I figured it out," Dean answered. "You said you were going north, and we mapped out a few routes, narrowed it down."

Cas swore, and Dean couldn't help but break into a grin. "Hey, it's what we do, Cas." He and Sam hadn't really KNOWN where they were, of course, only suspected. But Dean had used the oldest trick in the book on poor Gail, and she had fallen for it. He hoped Cas wasn't too pissed at her. Dean would have to make it up to Gail somehow. But Canada was a big country, after all. They could still be a lot of places.

Actually, Cas might have been annoyed with Gail, but he'd never get the chance to tell her so, as he was about to give away the farm himself.

"So, you know we're in Vancouver," Cas sighed into the phone.

"Cas!" Gail exclaimed. "You just told him exactly where we are!"

"Yahtzee," Dean said happily.

"Dean!" Cas chided, saying to Gail, "You said he knew!"

Crap, she thought. Suddenly, they were in a sitcom, rife with misunderstandings. She didn't actually care if he and Sam knew where they were. In a way, it was a bit of a relief not to have to worry about slipping when she talked to the brothers.

But Gail knew that it had meant something to Cas for them not to know, and she felt bad. She supposed it was her fault, with a big assist from Dean.

"Thanks a lot, Dean," Gail said loudly, making sure he would hear her. "Now you've gotten me in trouble."

Dean did feel a little bad if that was the case, but at least it was now out in the open. At least he and Sam would know where their friends were if they needed them.

"You shouldn't have done that, Dean," Cas said, annoyed. Though whether he was annoyed at Dean's having fooled them both, or at his having figured out where they had gone, he wasn't sure. "And how did you know we were going north in the first place?"

"You said you were, that day in the bunker," Dean retorted. He had been about to add that it was the day Cas and Gail had had an argument, but Dean figured he'd better not stir things up any further. He didn't want to be the cause of another one.

But he needn't have worried. Cas was shamefaced to realize it had been him who'd given the brothers the first clue. He could hardly be annoyed at Gail then, could he? Cas looked at her and said, "I'm sorry. It's me who should be in trouble, apparently."

Gail smiled. "I'm glad it's out in the open, to tell you the truth."

"So what job did Gail get?" Dean asked, curious.

"I'll let her tell you that." Cas said, and extended the phone to Gail, but she put up her hands.

"I'm not talking to that jerk," she said, making sure Dean could hear her loud and clear. "I'll call Sam on his cell phone later and tell him." She stalked out of the room.

"And everyone thinks I'm the one with the temper," Cas deadpanned.

Dean laughed; he just couldn't help it. "Sorry, Cas," he said. But Dean didn't really mean it.

"No, you're not," Cas sighed.

His friend knew Dean well. "No, I'm not," he said cheerfully.

Cas gave up then, and asked Dean if he knew anything about hooking up a TV to cable. Dean did, and he walked Cas through it step by step. When it was done, Cas said, "Thank you, Dean. For that, anyway," he added wryly.

"Look, tell Gail I'm sorry, and wish her well in her new job. And what will you be doing while she's working?" Dean asked.

"Oh, I'll be there too, don't worry," Cas replied enigmatically.

Dean rolled his eyes. Once an Angel, always an Angel, he thought, even in a foreign country. "Where exactly is this place you'll both be at?" he asked Cas.

"I don't know if I should say," Cas said, as Gail came back into the room and looked at him.

"Come on, Cas, what harm can it do now?" Dean cajoled.

He had a point. But still: "I think it's for Gail to say," he said to Dean. "I'm very proud of her." He smiled at Gail, and she relented. "Go ahead, tell him," she said to Cas.

So Cas told Dean about their day at the casino, and Dean shook his head. Two Angels hanging out in a casino all day, he thought, much like Cas and Gail had when they'd exited the place earlier today. And now it looked like Cas was going to be a professional gambler, at least for a while. He grinned. Pretty cool, actually.

But Gail was motioning to Cas. She'd noticed that the TV was hooked up, presumably correctly. "Here," she sighed, "give me the phone, please."

Cas handed it to her and Dean said, "Please, huh? You're turning into a Canadian already, I see."

"Oh, har, har," she said. "I just wanted to thank you for helping Cas set up the TV. You know how much he likes it." Gail did feel grateful to him for that. If not for Dean, they might have bought a very expensive dust collector this afternoon.

"Did you really buy that from his winnings?" Dean asked, impressed and just a little jealous.

Gail thawed, happy at the chance to praise Castiel. "What can I say? He's a natural," she told Dean. Cas smiled at her.

"I'd better get him to give me a few pointers when we see you guys next," Dean said.

Gail felt sad then. She had no idea when that might be. "Where's Sam, by the way?" she asked Dean. "I thought he would have come on by now."

"He's out doing a beer run," Dean answered.

"Oh," Gail said, then: "Are you sure you guys should be going anywhere alone?" she asked Dean.

"Don't you get the Cas disease now," he teased. "Sammy's a big boy, and so am I. We'll be fine, Gail. Don't you worry about us."

But she did worry. Things had been too quiet on the Heaven front, and Gail knew that wouldn't last. But she'd made her token protest, and Dean had given his standard answer.

The ritual complete, Gail promised him they'd call again soon and hung up the phone.

"Come here," she said to Cas, patting the bed beside her. "Let's see what we can find to watch."

He joined her, and Gail presented him with the remote. "Go," she smiled. Then she laid down, propping a pillow behind her head. She didn't need to worry about getting a good night's sleep for her first official day at work, but Gail felt like she should at least rest her mind, anyway. But now all she could think about was Sam being out there all by himself. She'd better quit it, though. She was being stupid. Look at what they did full-time. If she was going to freak out every time one of them went to the store, she'd drive herself nuts. Now she started to get a sense of how Castiel must feel about her going out alone.

Castiel knew what she was thinking, of course, and he drew her into his arms. "Thanks," Gail said gratefully, kissing him and laying her head on his chest. She wondered what tomorrow would be like. It was going to be her first job in ages, and she was excited. Better to focus on that.

Frank was sitting in the break room in Hell, brooding. He'd been so happy to see his sister, alive and well, and he'd been glad to hear that the Angel Castiel, who Frank thought he had killed, was still alive. He knew now that Gail was an Angel, too. He hadn't realized it before, but he should have known. Demons and Angels could always recognize each other. Frank supposed he had just been so preoccupied with murderous rage in the den that he hadn't stopped to let himself realize what was really going on. That meant she had also died somewhere along the line, and while he felt sad that her young life had also been cut short, she seemed fine. She was obviously still associated with the Winchester brothers in some way, and presumably with that Angel as well. Frank didn't know too much about what went on with Angels, but he wondered if there was anything going on with his sister and Castiel. Well, she could do worse than to have an Angel as a boyfriend, he guessed, smiling.

At least his sister seemed all right, Frank thought, which was all he'd ever wanted. As for him, well, it was what it was. He might not have deserved to be a Demon in the first place, but after all the evil things he had subsequently done in Crowley's service, he certainly deserved to be here now.

Two Demons sat down at the table next to Frank.

"So I pulled guard duty at the door to the restricted area," one said to the other. "It's pretty boring, you just stand there all day. But it beats some other jobs I've done in here."

"What's in the restricted area?" the other Demon asked.

"Lucifer's cage," his companion said, lowering his voice.

The Devil? Really? Frank thought. But, look where they were. Not a big surprise, he supposed.

Frank was just about to get up from his table when he heard the first Demon say, "Rumour has it Lucifer's got a guest in there with him. That's why Crowley put on the extra security."

"Really? Who would be that 'guest'?" the other Demon said, smirking. Whoever it was, better him than me, he thought.

His tablemate laughed. "You're not gonna believe it. God."

What? Frank's eyes widened, but he kept his head down. This guy had to be full of it. As if God Himself could be held prisoner in Hell.

"Well, Bobby Singer, anyway," the first Demon amended. "The acting God. Rumour has it the Angel Castiel was supposed to be in there with him, but Crowley couldn't get him for some reason."

"Damn," the second Demon said. "I wish. That son of a bitch. He and Dean Winchester tortured me in Sioux Falls. I'd have loved to see Lucifer get a hold of him."

Now Frank was really interested. He'd just been thinking about his sister and her companions, and these guys were referring to a couple of them now. Frank didn't know who Bobby Singer was, of course, or why he would be the acting God, but he was interested in the apparent fact that Crowley had been trying to imprison Castiel. Was this just the latest shot in Crowley's ongoing vendetta, or was there more going on? Frank decided to try to find out. Maybe there was something he could do to try to keep Gail's companion safe. After all, Frank owed the guy that much. And he obviously meant something to Gail, and had likely helped keep her safe all this time. Yeah, Frank was a Demon now, but he hated Crowley and he loved his sister. Maybe there was a reason he'd wound up here after all. Maybe he could help.

He got up and moved to sit down at the same table as the two Demons he'd overheard.

"Name's Frank," he said to them. "I couldn't help but overhear. I hate Castiel and Dean Winchester, too. Came close to killing them not that long ago."

Then Frank went on to tell them the story. Like his sister, he knew that the best lies were based mainly on the truth, and his story was horrible enough for his new buddies to be suitably impressed.

Gail was having a great time in her new job. A few days in, and she couldn't actually believe she was going to get paid for doing it. The poker room was busy pretty much all day, and she had already started getting to know some of the regular players, which helped her to do a better job. She found nthe multi-tasking fairly easy once she got the hang of it. And Gail found it a fun place to work. Being who she was, she had begun to joke around with the players and her co-workers, and many of them were responding positively.

Barry, in particular. He was the senior supervisor, the man who had shown her behind the desk on that first day. Their personalities had meshed smoothly, and she enjoyed teasing Barry. He gave back as good as he got, too, which Gail enjoyed. Their give-and-take reminded her of the relationship she had with Dean.

"Seat open," Barry said over the radio.

Gail was hanging up the phone, entering the name she'd just gotten onto the computer screen, and changing the time on the other computer for the tournament.

She grabbed the radio. "Keep your pants on, I have to announce the tournament," she said, smiling.

"Just for that, my pants are coming off," Barry retorted, also smiling.

Gail announced the next tournmament round, called the open seat, then got back on the radio. "I see your pants are still on, Barry," she teased. "Promises, promises."

Barry laughed, and a short while later, he came around behind the desk. "Feeling a little stressed, Gail? Need a massage, or something?" He put his hands on Gail's shoulders.

"Ooh, careful Barry," she teased. "I think Cas is watching you."

Barry laughed again. "Nah, he's too busy robbing us blind."

Gail smiled. Cas had been playing every day in the High Limit room ever since that first day, and every day he had cashed out several thousand dollars at the end of her work day. Who would have ever thought? If he kept that up, she supposed she didn't have to work, but Gail really enjoyed her job and she didn't mind. She needed something to do all day anyway.

"Besides, I'm your work husband now," Barry joked. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Gail smirked. "I don't know if he'd see it the same way."

"Let's find out," Barry said. He grabbed the microphone and said, "Cas to Poker Desk. Cas to Poker Desk."

Gail shook her head, laughing. "Hey, it's your funeral."

Cas reserved his spot and came to the desk. "What's the matter?" he asked Gail, looking concerned.

"Nothing," she assured him. "Just Barry, being a smartass."

"I was just wondering if I could steal Gail for a drink sometime," Barry joked to Cas.

Cas was puzzled. "What?"

"Barry thinks he's my 'work husband'," Gail scoffed, smiling. "I told him you might not see things the same way."

Now Cas was really confused. "'Work husband'?" he asked her.

Oh, that was right. Castiel would probably never have heard that expression before. Gail felt as if she was assimilating back into the human world pretty easily, but she reminded herself that he was an Angel, not a human.

Barry was looking at Cas curiously. "Yeah," he said. "What, you've never heard that before?"

"No," Cas told him, "but if anybody's going to be Gail's husband, it's going to be me."

"Is that a legitimate proposal?" Gail teased. She was really enjoying herself now. Too bad they weren't human, though. She'd really kind of liked the sound of that.

Cas smiled at her. He'd been thinking the same thing.

Barry gave up. "Ahh, never mind. You two are looking at each other with the googly-eyes anyway. If my boyfriend looked at me like that just once, I wouldn't be thinking of switching to the other team. Of course, if my boyfriend looked like you," he smiled at Cas, "I'd be willing to make allowances."

Cas looked a little startled then, and Gail gave Barry a playful swat on the arm. "Careful, it's going to be me who's jealous in a minute. Get away from my desk, I've got work to do," she teased Barry.

Barry went back out to the floor, and Cas looked back at Gail. "What was that all about?" he asked with a half-smile. "Should I punch him, or not?"

He was teasing, of course. Or was he? Gail wasn't really sure. "No, but I might have to," Gail said, smiling. Castiel gave her a blank stare, so she continued, "He's gay, Cas."

"Oh," Castiel said, then: "Ohh. Well, good. Good for him, then. OK." He seemed to consider this for a moment, then said, "Well, I guess I should be flattered, then."

Gail grinned. "I guess so. I'm just trying to figure out if I should be jealous or not."

"It's funny, some people would say that's wrong," Castiel mused. "I know that some back in - back home," he quickly amended, remembering where they were, "would say that it was. But I don't think God would," he continued, lowering his voice. "Love is love, and it's all good."

She looked at him, impressed. That was exactly how she felt about the subject. He was probably talking about Xavier and the board. Which wouldn't surprise her, not one bit. Look at their attitude towards herself and Castiel. It made her feel sad. Gail was sure their Father wouldn't condemn Barry. But if Xavier took over, Heaven would be a very different place. It almost made her want to cry. If Xavier wasn't trying to slap Castiel in prison, or worse, she'd suggest they go back right now and kick Xavier's ass.

But the phones were ringing again, and this wasn't the time or place for that subject of conversation. So Gail settled for saying, "I really love you, you know that? Now go make us some money, I'm busy here." She shooed him away, smiling, and he smiled back and returned to his table.

Castiel played another hand, but his concentration was momentarily broken. He was thinking about his conversation with Gail just now. What would happen to Barry's soul if Xavier was God? Castiel was thinking along the same lines as Gail had been, and he'd known Xavier a lot longer. A hardliner like Xavier would treat homosexuality as a sin, and Barry would not be welcomed into Heaven under Xavier's watch. Could Castiel just sit back and allow that to happen? The original God, his Father, would have had no problem with it, and Castiel was sure that Bobby felt the same, as Cas himself would have had he accepted the job when it had been offered to him. But Heaven under Xavier's purview? That was the Heaven that Castiel had never wanted to see, and now it appeared as though it was going to come into fruition. And here he was, playing poker in a casino. He had to talk to Gail.

Cas said to the dealer, "Cashing out," and flipped him a few chips, then took his racks of chips to the cash cage and got the money. Then he stopped by the poker desk.

"When is your next break?" he asked Gail.

"Hang on," she said, answering the phone. "Can you hold for a moment, please?" Gail said into the phone, then she stuck them on hold anyway. Castiel was her number one priority. "What's up?" she asked him.

"I need to talk to you, Gail," he said. She recognized that he was serious. Gail grabbed the radio. "Barry, can I take ten? It's important."

Barry walked over to the desk and looked at both of them. He saw the grim look on Cas's face. "Is everything OK?" Barry asked them.

"Yes, I just need to talk to Gail for a moment," Cas told him. "Something's come up. Do you mind?"

Barry looked around the room, then said, "Yeah, go ahead, Gail, it's not that busy right now. I'll cover for you."

"Thanks, Barry," she said, moving away from behind the desk.

They were outside, and Castiel turned to her. "I'm thinking about going back," he said.

Crap. Not this again. But Gail knew him well by now. She thought the conversation they'd had might be weighing on his mind.

"How can we do that, Castiel?" she asked him helplessly.

"How can we not?" he countered. "You know what Heaven will be like under Xavier's rule, don't you?"

She knew. But: "The situation hasn't changed, Cas. That's why we came here in the first place."

"I know, but...what will happen if I just sit back and do nothing?" he argued. "What will happen to all the people like Barry?"

He'd touched a nerve. Gail had thought of the same thing. She honestly didn't know. She just knew that Castiel giving himself up to face a trial couldn't possibly be the answer.

"I was thinking," he continued. "What about if I try to reach out to Xaviwr, try to convince him to drop the charges against you?"

Gail was touched, but she was angry, as well. "So what?" she retorted. "You think I care about that? So I go to prison on some trumped-up charge? Big deal. You're facing a possible death sentence!"

"My life is no more valuable than Barry's soul," Castiel said grimly.

He was right, in principle. But Gail said, "It is to me. If I have to choose."

"That's not what being an Angel is all about," Castiel told her. "It's about sacrifice."

Gail was crying now. "Why does it always have to be us?" she pleaded. "Why should we be the ones to sacrifice? Maybe I don't want to sacrifice anything more!" She was thinking of Frank, and of everything else that they'd been through.

Castiel considered this, then said, "Right is right, Gail."

She laughed shortly. "As if Xavier cares about what's right! If he did, he wouldn't be persecuting you in the first place!"

They stood and looked at each other for a moment. They were both right, but in a way, they were both wrong.

Gail broke the silence. "You're right, Castiel. I can't argue. You're completely and utterly right." She put a hand on his arm. "However, before you go, I just want to let you know..." she winced inwardly before she said it. This might be the lowest she had ever sunk, even lower than when she'd been briefly in Crowley's service. But her heart was in the right place. At least, that's what she needed to tell herself. "...If you go back," she continued, "I'm coming back with you, and I'm going to plead guilty to whatever charges are laid against me." And, to add emphasis, she sank even lower: "And you remember what Jason said he would do to me."

Castiel's eyes widened. Yes, of course he remembered. He couldn't let that happen to her. What the hell had he been thinking? "I'm sorry, Gail. You're right," he said. "We're in an impossible situation here. Forget I spoke."

Gail felt like the scum of the earth. In putting him first, she had in effect blackmailed him into putting her first. What kind of Angel was she?

"I need to take a walk and clear my mind," Castiel said to her. "I'll see you back home." He kissed her cheek, but his expression was distant, and he started to walk away.

Gail walked back into the poker room, her heart heavy, and she couldn't look Barry in the eye for the rest of her shift. Would Castiel be home when she got there? Should he be? She didn't have any answers. Please, Father, give me some guidance here, she prayed between phone calls. Please.

The time had finally come for Garth and Bess to be sent to Earth, along with the Hellhounds, to recover a man whose time had run out. Crowley had finally gotten around to visiting the compound where the beasts were being held.

"So, how many souls have the Werewolves recovered so far?" Crowley asked the trainer.

"None, my King," the trainer replied, bowing his head.

"None?" Crowley asked incredulously. "Why none?"

"Because," the trainer said hesitantly, "you had left explicit instructions not to send them out with the rest of the pack until you said so."

Crowley was momentarily taken aback. Had he said that? He couldn't remember having done so. But when he'd first come back to Hell, without his mother to goad him, he'd been a borderline alcoholic and hadn't given a damn about much of anything. So he supposed it was possible. Not that he'd ever admit it.

"Well, send them!" Crowley said impatiently, as if it had been the trainer's fault that they hadn't been sent out prior.

"Yes, Sir," the trainer said, bowing again.

So Garth and Bess were finally on Earth, leading the pack of Hellhounds as they ran after some poor bastard who had made a deal that he'd thought he was prepared to honour.

But when they ran down the poor soul in the forest, Bess and Garth had looked at each other and stopped. They shook their heads at each other because they could no longer speak. They couldn't bring themselves to do it; even though they were supposed to be in Crowley's service, somehow their original souls still prevailed. Maybe because he'd kind of tricked them into signing the contract in the first place, or maybe because they had been good souls at heart, Werewolves or not.

So they turned on the rest of the pack, baring their teeth and growling, and the Hellhounds realized they were overmatched and stood down. There would be no soul taken today.

Castiel had used his walk home to think, but by the time he got back to the apartment, he was no closer to working out a solution than when he'd left the casino.

He knew full well what Gail had been doing back there; he'd seen the look on her face. She'd resorted to questionable tactics to dissuade him from returning to Heaven, and she knew it. The problem was, she had not been wrong. The old Castiel would have just popped into Heaven and driven his blade through Jason, eliminating the threat. But he was a new Angel now, and a better man, or at least he was trying to be. The temptation was strong, though. And as far as her threatening to give herself up and plead guilty to the charges? That was ridiculous. He couldn't allow it.

Castiel sighed. Even if he did go back to Heaven, nothing would change, not as long as Xavier had the power to sway the board. He and Gail would be put in prison, at the very least in his own case, and Xavier would be free to rule Heaven as he saw fit. And Barry and humans like him would join others like Frank as Crowley's servants, though they did not deserve to be there.

The instant Gail finished her shift, she went upstairs to the employee washroom and after making sure no one was there, she winked herself home.

Cas was momentarily startled to see Gail standing before him. Now he knew how Dean felt. He smiled thinly.

Gail was relieved to see he was still there. "Sorry, I know we agreed not to do that here," she said with a half-smile, "but I needed to talk to you right away. I'm a crappy Angel. In fact, I may be the worst one ever. I've been feeling sick ever since you left."

Castiel's smile became genuine. He knew Gail too well by now to not know that she'd been having a crisis of conscience over what she'd said to him.

"I'm the world's most selfish person," Gail continued. "Can you please forgive me?"

He moved to where she stood and took her in his arms. "Of course I can forgive you. That's kind of what we do," he teased, smiling down at her. "And I know you're just looking out for my best interests."

Gail sighed. She appreciated his forgiveness, but she wasn't ready to forgive herself. "I asked our Father for forgiveness, too, between phone calls." Her mouth twitched. "He didn't call, though."

Castiel laughed. "He never does."

Just then, a bird flew through the window that Cas had opened for fresh air when he got home. It was a beautiful white dove. It perched on top of the TV they'd bought and stayed there for a moment, almost as if it was regarding them.

The couple looked at the bird, then they looked at each other in amazement. Was this a sign from God, or just an amazing coincidence?

Then the bird flew back out the window, and they looked at each other again.

Gail broke into a smile. "Maybe He just did," she said. Coincidence or not, she felt better now.

So did Castiel. He was sure it had been a sign from their Father, a sign that meant that they were forgiven, and to stay the course.

He took Gail's hands in his. "I think He did, too," he said to her.

They were going with that.

Ignatius was also having a crisis of conscience at the moment.

He had just returned to his office from the Upper Echelon meeting Xavier had requested. All of the other board members had been there, discussing the one who, of course, was not. Daniel, Alexander, Gregory, Lanister and Ignatius himself had listened as Xavier explained the steps that had been taken to try to locate Castiel. Crowley's name had not been mentioned. Instead, Xavier outlined the computer search that had been done, and the apparent fact that Kevin had come up empty as far as visions of the Angels went.

"How do we know he is telling the truth?" Alexander had asked. "Wasn't he a friend of Castiel's on Earth?"

Xavier silently blessed Brother Alexander for saying this. It was the perfect opening for the presentation he was about to make.

"Exactly," Xavier answered Alexander, then he looked at the other board members. "That is why I have decided what I have decided. We are no closer to holding the tribunal now than we were the day it was supposed to have started. We need a resolution, now. Heaven needs a leader, and I cannot take the Office until we go through the proper channels, as per our laws. Castiel must be brought back." He paused, hoping his Brothers would accept what he was about to say, now that he had emphasized the seriousness of the situation. "That is why I am sending Jason to Earth on a special project. I have instructed him not to come back without the Angels."

"What is this project?" Ignatius had asked Xavier.

Xavier debated with himself for a moment. Should he disclose what he was sending Jason to do? He supposed he should. They were all on the same side here.

So he told his fellow board members that Jason was going to go to Earth and hold Kevin's mother hostage in an effort to convince Kevin to cooperate. And then, if Kevin still wouldn't, or couldn't, give them any useful information, Jason was going to interrogate Sam and Dean Winchester.

He'd left out the part about torture and possible murder, but Xavier figured it was implied. In any event, this was their chance to raise any objections they might have.

But no one had objected, not even Ignatius. The rest of the board had agreed that the situation had become desperate. And everyone knew the saying about desperate times.

However, now that Ignatius was alone, he was thinking about the implications. He knew Jason very well, and Jason wasn't known for the art of gentle persuasion. What exactly was he condoning with his silence? But, these were only humans that they were setting Jason upon. It wasn't as if he was going to harm any innocent Angels.

So Ignatius supposed he could accept that. Suddenly, an image of Ignatius's daughter arose in his mind. Felicia, young and beautiful, begging her father to accept her love for a human. But his daughter was an Angel, and that kind of love was wrong. So Ignatius had turned his back on his daughter, and he had not seen her or spoken to her since that day. What was Felicia doing now? Was she with her human? Was she happy?

It didn't matter. Her association with the human man had soiled her in her father's eyes, and Ignatius could never condone it or accept his daughter for the path she'd chosen.

Ignatius picked up a quill and began to work, putting the board meeting out of his mind. Let Jason do what he needed to do. Heaven was Ignatius's priority.

Linda was doing some dusting in the living room when the doorbell rang. She put down the framed picture of Kevin she'd been holding and went to answer the door.

She opened the door to a tall, dark-haired man she had never seen before.

"Linda Tran?" he asked her.

She frowned. A strange man coming to her door, asking for her by her full name? Well, he probably wasn't a Demon, at least. Her son was in Heaven now; there was no longer any point in Crowley continuing his vendetta against them. But she had the sprayer of holy water in her hand, just in case, and she sprayed him in the face with it now.

Jason sputtered. What the hell was the matter with this woman?

OK. Not a Demon. "Sorry," Linda said to him. "I thought I saw...a bug on your face," she finished lamely. Now that she had looked at his more closely, she saw the jagged scars on his cheeks. Poor man. Whatever had happened to him must have really hurt.

"Did they torture you, too?" Linda asked him, almost in a whisper. Maybe he had come to her for help.

Jason paused in the act of wiping his face with his hand. This could be his admittance into her home. "Yes," he said, "they did."

The poor man. "Come in," Linda said, opening the door wider.

A short while later, Kevin's office phone rang.

"Kevin here," he said into the phone.

"Kevin?" A woman's voice. And she was crying.

"Mom?" Kevin said, astonished. He stood up and leaned over the phone, looking at the call display. Unknown number. Of course.

"Kevin?" A man's voice now. "This is Jason. I'm here on Earth, having a visit with your mother. Tea, cookies, all very civilized. Right now, anyway."

"He says he'll torture me if you don't tell him what you know!" Linda exclaimed. Jason had obviously put the phone on speaker so Kevin could hear them both. "He says he's an Angel!"

Kevin sat back down again in shock. He couldn't believe that Jason would sink so low. What was he supposed to do now?

God had been watching all of them, both fascinated and appalled by what He'd seen so far.

He'd been heartened to see Aurielle return that evil spell book to her desk drawer and seek out Becky. He had had His doubts whether Bobby had made the right decision in bringing her back to Heaven. But He had advised Bobby that it was his call, and since God had been on the fence about her anyway when He'd sent her to Purgatory, He supposed He really couldn't say much. But it was obvious to God that she was still dangerously obsessed with Castiel, and He'd been waiting to see what Aurielle's next move would be. It appeared to Him that she still had a sliver of a conscience left, and God wanted to see which side of her would prevail. He really hoped she could save herself before it was too late. He wanted His ambivalence about her to have been for a good reason. No one liked to admit they'd been wrong, especially not Him.

He realized that Becky was obsessed too, but thought she was basically harmless. God had applauded Bobby's decision to rescue Becky from Hell. When He'd drafted the ancient rule book, God had viewed things in terms of black and white. But certain children of His had since shown Him that life was often grey, and God realized He should have amended some of the ancient rules years ago. Suicide was a shame, and a terrible waste, but He now felt that each poor soul who allowed themselves to succumb to it should be judged on a case by case basis. Becky had a good heart underneath it all, God was sure of it. She would make a good Angel, and she could be a good influence on Aurielle. As long as her obsession with Sam didn't lead her to trouble, God would leave Becky be.

The time was drawing near for God to return to Heaven, at least for a visit. There were a number of things He needed to put right. As always, He had had His own reasons for stepping aside and letting His children make their own decisions. Sometimes you had to let them be free to choose one path or the other. Even his Original Son Cain, or Crowley, as he called himself now. God still thought that Crowley had a sense of right and wrong, King of Hell notwithstanding. But his Father had been disappointed when Crowley had aligned himself with Xavier. In God's opinion, and He'd been proven right by subsequent events, Xavier was the worse of the two. At least Crowley was the head Demon and was honest about who he was and what he represented. Xavier was an Angel, a long-serving one, and He was walking around Heaven as if he owned the place and all the souls in it, as well. When the time came, Xavier would be dealt with, and severely. God would have to get creative with his punishment.

And what of poor Bobby, trapped in a cage with God's most disappointing child, Lucifer? He was being tortured hourly, and his mind was just about gone. God was allowing this to happen because the tribunal needed to take place, and it could only do so if Bobby was safely out of the way. But God would have to make it up to Bobby somehow. His suffering was considerable. Maybe it would make him a better, even more compassionate God. If that was the way that things went, of course. God had bought into the concept of Free Will, and was applying it to all of his children, for better or for worse.

God had been greatly amused by the exploits of his two Angels in Vancouver. It didn't particularly bother Him that they were working in a casino. They were doing what they needed to do to survive and assimilate into the human world, and they were earning their money honestly. No Commandments had been broken, though a couple were being stretched a little. God was well aware of his Son's accomplishments in the past and also of his considerable failings, but He thought that Castiel had acquitted himself well in the past couple of years, and he had demonstrated to his Father that he now knew how to be a true Angel. Contrary to human opinion, Angels were not perfect, nor had He ever intended for them to be. Goodness of intention did not require one to be above others or below them, merely to know the difference between right and wrong, and to conduct themselves accordingly. God needed Castiel and Gail to return to Heaven and sit before Xavier's tribunal, but He would give them a bit more time together in the human world first. They had been through so much, and He would be putting them through more before too long. If they were able to find some happiness with each other through all the misery, why should they not have it? He had thoroughly enjoyed watching them in Las Vegas with the Winchester brothers. God Himself was of the opinion that Castiel and Gail had not sinned in Las Vegas, and He should know. Having written the very Commandments that the tribunal was to be based on, God knew that the couple had not done anything wrong. Xavier was the one that was wrong in this situation. He had let his hunger for power consume him.

God had also been gratified to see both Castiel and Gail wrestling with their individual consciences regarding moral issues. One of the things that made Him angriest was when His original intent was taken and twisted into something else to suit someone's personal agenda. God had never intended for homosexuality to be viewed as a sin, nor any kind of consensual sexuality, for that matter. Love was one of the best things that He had ever invented, and this honest and natural expression of the love between two people was something He had invented as well. His Son had been exactly right in his thought process while looking at his mate in Las Vegas; it would have been completely illogical for God to have invented something as wonderfully intimate as sex and then prohibited people from doing it. As long as it was an expression of love, God was all for it.

So He had sent the dove to His Son and Daughter as a sign that He was aware of their struggles and to let them know that He was in their corner. Considering what He was going to subject them to in the future, it was the least He could do to show His support.

God was also glad to see that their friends were showing their support. And they did have some true friends, even though they were feeling pretty alone at the moment. Young Kevin had kept his visions to himself so far, and so had Chuck. God had to admit to Himself that He had never seen that one coming. He had to hand it to Bobby on that score. Chuck really had reformed himself. Despite having been cast into Hell, Chuck had risen above his bitterness and resentment and had truly become an Angel. His visions had returned as a reward, but the reward had turned sour, as Chuck was seeing things he didn't want to see. But he'd persisted in trying to do the right thing, even though Kevin had rebuffed him. But Kevin was the one with something to lose. Even now, God could see Kevin's mother tied to a chair in her own home and Jason wielding his Angel blade. Would Kevin break?

Metatron was beyond salvation, and God had given up on him. Heaven, Hell, Earth, even Purgatory, there was no place that was appropriate for the likes of him. God should just smite him now and get it over with. Did he still have a part to play in all this? Even God didn't know any more. He hadn't wasted a lot of time keeping up with Metatron; every time He looked at his Original Scribe, God felt nauseous.

Frank had been a pleasant surprise. Ever since Gail had killed her brother and released him into Hell, Frank had somehow retained his original soul in the face of all that was evil, and was even now trying to figure out a way to help his sister and her friends. God might have to do something for Frank if Gail's brother continued along this path. He had suffered a great injustice but had not allowed himself to succumb to bitterness, and he truly repented the wrongs he had done as part of his forced servitude to Crowley. Could be he deserved a break.

Garth and Bess were also victims of Crowley's, and God had been interested to view their refusal to take a soul even in their present pitiful state.

God had smiled when hearing Gail's thoughts as she'd sat alone at the bar, and he agreed that she'd had a point: Were all Angels Angelic? Certainly not. Look at Jason and Xavier as prime examples. As she'd chastised his Son that night, God had laughed. Apparently, He'd endowed her with a bit more spirit than Castiel had bargained for. That was all right; God had blessed his favourite Son with astonishing powers, so much so that he needed to be kept in check at times, and it seemed that God had chosen wisely when He'd sent Gail to Castiel as a partner.

Following Gail's thought process, all Demons were not necessarily Demonic. She'd apparently been right about her brother. And God Himself still believed that Crowley was not all he appeared to be. He looked forward to a lively debate with His Daughter on that subject, God thought, chuckling.

And, back to the subject of Garth and Bess, did it not then stand to reason that all monsters were not necessarily monstrous? Sam Winchester had come to that conclusion, and had succeeded in bringing his brother Dean around to his way of thinking.

As for the Winchesters, God had been happy to see them going about their business together, helping humanity by going back out on the road and Hunting. But he would require great sacrifices from them, too. They had their own parts to play, and like it or not, Heaven needed them.

God may be the architect of many of the events that swirled around the children He'd been thinking about, but their circumstances were largely of their own making, and their decisions were their own. It would be interesting to see which of them would take the right path and which of them would fall.

6 - THOU SHALT NOT KILL

Chuck had seen Jason threatening an Asian woman with his Angel blade, and he had heard the beginnings of the telephone call.

Xavier had retrieved the special cell phone he kept in the cabinet in his office. It was this phone that he had been retrieving when he'd rushed past Aurielle without a word. God had provided Xavier with this phone to be used only in emergencies as a direct conduit between Heaven and Earth. Xavier had kept it on his desk within arm's reach while debating with himself whether to send Jason to Earth on his horrible mission, and once the decision was made, Xavier had given it to Jason to use.

Chuck was crestfallen. If only Kevin had trusted Chuck when he'd visited his office. Now it was too late.

Kevin was sweating bullets. He had no doubt that Jason would carry out his threat. Kevin couldn't allow his mother to be tortured, but how could he live with himself if he gave Jason the information? Kevin knew exactly where Castiel and Gail were, and he knew where Sam and Dean were, too. He'd have to tell Jason something. Should he lie? Send Jason on a wild goose chase? That might buy them some time, but what would happen when Jason found out he'd been had?

"What'll it be, Kevin? I know that you know where the Angels are," Jason said over the phone.

"What makes you think I know anything?" Kevin said, stalling. Thinking furiously. Looking for a way out. "I told you and Xavier I couldn't see anything."

"I know that's what you told us," Jason said calmly, showing a terrified Linda the blade, taunting her with it. "I'm calling you a liar."

"Don't you call my son a liar," Linda said tartly. She was scared, all right, but she'd been menaced lots of times in the past, and no one was going to stand here and insult her son. She couldn't believe this guy was an Angel, though. Weren't they supposed to be the good guys? "What's this all about, Kevin?"

"They think I know something about where Castiel is, Mom," Kevin replied.

"Castiel?" Linda said, puzzled. "But he's an Angel, isn't he? Why don't they know where he is?"

"That's Heaven's business, human," Jason snapped, putting the tip of his blade to Linda's cheek.

"They're trying to put him on trial," Kevin blurted. "There's a really bad Angel named Xavier who wants to take over Heaven, and he needs Cas out of the way to do it."

"Oh, well, in that case, don't tell them anything," Linda said boldly. "That is, if you knew anything to tell them."

Kevin almost smiled. Tiger Mom strikes again. He could picture her giving Jason the stink-eye. She'd stood up to Crowley on her son's behalf, punching the King of Hell in the face. She'd once kidnapped a Demon single-handedly and brought him to Sam and Dean to be tortured for information. Cas might have been in on that, too; Kevin couldn't remember. But his mother had no idea what she was dealing with here, and she was alone.

Neal was walking around the poker room, waiting for a spot to open up. He wandered into the High Limit alcove to watch the action there for a bit. He wished he could afford to play for higher stakes, but production assistants didn't make that kind of money. Still, he loved what he did. Being part of the creative process of a TV show as popular as Supernatural had become was very satisfying.

He watched the hand in progress, concentrating on the cards in the middle of the table and the size of the bets placed. Wow. Just as well he didn't play here. These guys really had big ones, risking that kind of money.

Then Neal got a good look at the guy who'd just won the hand, and his jaw dropped. He looked almost exactly like...but it couldn't be. Neal had just left the studio, and he'd been filming a scene.

Barry walked by the High Limit table just then, and he put his hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Have some mercy, Cas," he joked. "At this rate, we'll be broke in a week."

Cas smiled up at him. He really liked Barry. He was funny and friendly, and he was really good to Gail. "You'll survive," he joked back. "But I think I will take a break for a bit. Gail's lunch is coming up, isn't it?"

Barry nodded. He should have figured as much. Cas and Gail were the closest couple he had ever seen, gay or straight, nauseatingly in love. They spent all her breaks together. Funny, he'd never seen them eat, though, even during her lunch break. They just sat there, holding hands and talking. He and Tommy should try that sometime. They'd have to have Cas and Gail over for dinner soon, give them a few drinks and pry some secrets out of them. It wouldn't hurt for Tommy to see he was friends with such a good-looking guy either, Barry thought. It would probably make him more attentive.

Cas reserved and walked up to the poker desk. He always kept his chips tableside until he was ready to cash out for the day. Barry would watch them.

"You ready for your break?" he asked Gail.

She hung up the phone and added a name to the list, then asked Barry if it was all right.

He'd already come behind the desk, preparing to take over for her. "What are you asking me for?" Barry teased her.

"Well, you are her work husband," Cas said, smiling. He was fine with the term since he'd learned what it meant. He actually thought it was pretty funny. He enjoyed seeing the interaction between Gail and Barry, and he saw no reason to feel jealous of their closeness. In a lot of ways, their banter reminded him of her relationship with Dean. In fact, he'd almost slipped and called Barry by Dean's name once. He missed the brothers.

"Yeah, but she rules the roost, everyone knows that," Barry replied.

"And don't you forget it," Gail said, nudging Barry with her shoulder.

Neal followed the couple to the casino's cafe and took a table next to them. He also noticed they weren't eating, just holding hands and talking. He just couldn't get over the resemblance. He pulled out his cellphone and called one of the producers, telling him about what he was seeing. Then he discreetly took a picture of Cas and sent it to the producer. "And, get this - the guy's name is Cas!"

Richard couldn't believe it. Neal was right; the resemblance was uncanny. And the guy's name was Cas? It was almost eerie. Well, the show was called Supernatural, after all.

"I'm coming down," he told Neal. "I've got to see this for myself. If this guy's OK, I might offer him a job. We've been looking for a body double for 'Castiel' ever since the last guy got hurt doing one of the stunts."

"OK, see you in a few," Neal said, and hung up the phone. He'd nearly forgotten about that. Hopefully, if Richard offered this Cas guy a job, he'd outline the risks first. Some of the fight scenes were pretty intense, even though they were well-scripted and rehearsed. He looked like he was in pretty good shape, but they'd have to see how he handled himself.

Chuck burst into Kevin's office without knocking and saw Kevin sitting at his desk and staring at his phone. His face was ashen.

After Linda had told Kevin not to tell Jason anything, Jason had slashed her arm with the blade and she had cried out in pain.

"Mom!" Kevin had yelled.

"That was for your defiance," Jason told Linda. "The next one will be for your son's benefit." He slashed her other arm, relishing her screams. It had been way too long.

Kevin couldn't stand it. "Mom!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, matching her screams. "Mom! No!"

Linda was in pain, but her resolve remained strong even as she sensed her son's was about to falter. "Don't, Kevin," she said. "Think. Take a minute and think."

Kevin was very smart, but he knew his mother was, too. He would do what she said. "Call me back in ten minutes," he said, and hung up the phone.

Good Lord, Kevin thought, what have I just done? And what was he going to do now?

Impulsively, he'd picked up the phone again and called the only one he could think of that might know what he should do. Kevin would have to trust him, now.

Chuck didn't know what he was supposed to say here. "We both know where they are," Chuck said to Kevin. "Agreed?"

Kevin sighed. He had called Chuck for help out of desperation, one Prophet to another. He hadn't known where else to turn. There was no point in being coy any more: he couldn't afford the luxury.

"Yeah, Chuck. Agreed," Kevin said.

Chuck thought for a moment. What was the rightest wrong thing to do here? If they didn't act soon, Kevin's mother was going to suffer terribly at Jason's hands, maybe even die. But if Kevin gave Jason the information he was seeking, Castiel and Gail would be apprehended, and Kevin would be tormented by guilt for the rest of his existence. On the other hand, if Cas and Gail were apprehended and brought before the tribunal, it would not necessarily mean that anything bad would happen to them, would it? As far as he and Kevin knew, the proceeding was just a really intense job interview, right? At least, that's how Xavier was presenting it to the rest of Heaven. But Chuck knew better, didn't he? He'd had another vision just before Kevin had called him. Gail screaming, weeping hysterically as Jason held her by the hair and forced her eyes open. Making her watch as Heaven's newly appointed Executioner, Metatron, stabbed Castiel to death. Over and over again he stabbed, long after Castiel was dead. And Metatron was laughing.

But maybe Chuck could do something to help Cas and Gail once they were back in Heaven; there was nothing that he and Kevin could do for Kevin's mother now, except for the one thing. They didn't have a choice. No one else was going to get hurt or die on Chuck's watch, not if he could help it.

"When Jason calls back," Chuck said to Kevin, "I'll be the one who gives him the information. You know nothing. Then he'll have no reason to hurt your mother. You play innocent. I'll be the bad guy here. It's not like I don't have a lot of practice." Chuck smiled wryly. "You just have to promise me something."

Kevin was shell-shocked. "What?" he asked Chuck.

"Promise me you'll help me do whatever it takes to help Cas and Gail when the time comes. And it will come," Chuck said grimly.

Kevin had been alarmed when Chuck had outlined his plan, thinking that Chuck hadn't changed at all. He'd just been biding his time until he could screw Cas over, deliver him to Xavier. While Kevin hadn't had the horrifying vision that Chuck had earlier, the young Prophet also knew that the tribunal was no mere job interview. If Cas returned to Heaven, he was toast.

But Chuck was handing him a way to save his mother, and asking Kevin to team up with him to HELP Castiel once he got here. It was the best of a bad situation.

So when Jason called back, the two Prophets were in agreement: Chuck would tell Jason exactly what he wanted to know.

Oblivious to the peril they were both in, Cas and Gail were having a very interesting and confusing conversation on her last break.

"So you're telling me this Richard guy is one of the producers of the Supernatural TV show and that he offered you a job to play...yourself?" Gail said incredulously.

Castiel smiled. "Well, yes and no. I'd actually be what they call a 'body double' for the actor who plays...me." Even as he was saying it, he realized how crazy it sounded.

"What exactly does a 'body double' do?" Gail asked curiously. "Not that you don't have a good one," she added, teasing.

Cas squeezed her hand for a moment, appreciating her comment. "Richard told me that I'd be standing in for him for fight scenes, things like that. He advised it's physically demanding, but I think I'd be pretty good at it, considering my wealth of experience with a real blade."

Gail smiled at that. It was certainly true.

"I need to know what you think," Castiel said to her.

What DID she think? It was funny, weird and surreal, all at the same time. "Never mind what I think," Gail said, turning it back on him, "what do YOU think?"

He frowned suddenly. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "It would be an actual job. I'd be earning money, not winning it away from others. I'm growing a little tired of playing poker, to be honest."

"It sounds like you should take the job, then," she said.

"But, on the other hand," Castiel said, "the previous association we had with 'Supernatural' was one of the worst things that ever happened to me. I almost lost you."

"True, but that didn't really have anything to do with the show," Gail pointed out. "That was our world, not theirs."

Castiel nodded. She was right. Gail had a way of piercing through to the heart of the matter at times that he admired, and he needed her perspective on things.

"But, I won't be here to keep an eye on you," Cas said. Thoughts of the Supernatural convention and the near-tragedy had reawoken his fears for her safety; even though there had been no threat since they'd arrived in Canada, that didn't mean there wouldn't be one. Jason was still out there. Look what had happened the last time he let go of her hand and let her walk into the concourse alone.

"Are you still worried about me and Barry?" Gail teased, knowing full well that wasn't what he was concerned about. "Don't worry, he's not changing uniforms any time soon. In fact, he and Tommy invited us over for dinner next week. We're going to have to talk about that at some point."

Cas smiled again, disarmed by her humour. "I guess we will. I don't know if I can pretend to eat a whole meal. Do they have a dog, or a potted plant?"

Gail laughed merrily. This time in Vancouver had been really good for him. For both of them, really. Without the constant drama of threats to their lives, they had grown even closer as a couple and blossomed as individuals. And while she realized this idyllic existence couldn't go on forever, and that sooner or later they'd have to deal with what they'd left behind or it would show up to deal with them, Gail just wanted to hang onto their happiness as long as she could. Was that so wrong?

She touched Cas's face. "I'll be fine. If you want to do it, you should do it. It might be fun. Just don't let it go to your head when you become famous."

He smiled. She could always make him smile, even when he was having the most serious of thoughts. "I'm sure you wouldn't let that happen."

"Damn straight," she quipped, thinking of Dean as she said it. Wait until they told the brothers the news. It was a good thing they were only in contact by phone. If she uttered the word "Supernatural" to Dean, the only one he could punch would be Sam.

"Well?" Jason asked. "What's it going to be, Kevin? I won't ask again."

Kevin had the phone on speaker, and he looked at Chuck. This was it.

But Linda had other plans. Jason had leaned over to speak into the phone, and he had tied her arms to the chair but her legs were free. She half-closed her eyes and kicked Jason in the groin, as hard as she could. Would that even work on an Angel? She had no idea, but she had to try something. It was not in Linda's nature to be passive, and she didn't want Kevin to tell this bastard anything.

Jason doubled over in pain, and Linda yelled, "Don't you do it, Kevin! Don't you tell this son of a bitch anything!"

But Kevin wasn't going to; Chuck was. Chuck opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, Linda was screaming again. Kevin's blood ran cold. What was that bastard doing to her now?

Jason was killing her, that's what he was doing. The bitch had hurt him badly, and she was still openly defying him, even though he'd warned her not to. He lost it. Having been denied the pleasure of hurting humans for so long, the pent-up rage and sadism inside him exploded, and Jason ran his blade right through Linda's chest. He kept on stabbing her until he could no longer see the smirk on her face.

"Your mother is dead, Kevin," Jason said, breathing heavily. "Take the lesson. This is what happens to people who defy me." He grabbed the cell phone and activated the video feature. He'd had one of the young Angels show him how to do it before leaving Heaven on his mission.

Kevin's cell phone rang then, the one he'd kept in his desk drawer as a souvenir from when he'd been alive. It couldn't be...but it was. He flipped it open and saw the image of his poor mother's body. Jason hadn't just murdered her, he'd ripped her to shreds.

He threw the phone against the wall, shattering it. Chuck looked at Kevin inquiringly for a moment, then he understood. But Chuck didn't understand why Jason had done it. His leverage was now gone. They didn't have to tell him anything about the Angels now. He was glad about that, but his heart broke for Kevin.

Tears were streaming down Kevin's face, but Jason wasn't finished with him. "Now you're going to give me the Winchester humans," Jason said to him. "I'll get the information from them." He looked down at Linda's body again. "This was entirely too brief. And not very satisying. I need to sharpen my interrogation skills."

Kevin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You just killed my mother, you crazy bastard!" he screamed at Jason. "Why the hell would I tell you anything?"

"Your girlfriend Becky is a pretty little Angel, isn't she?" Jason said, almost happily. "I wonder if she'd be so cute with scars like mine."

Kevin couldn't stand it any more. How had he thought he could defy someone like Jason and get away with it? Now his mother was dead, and Becky was going to be next. He couldn't have that on his conscience.

Before Chuck could stop him, Kevin told Jason where Sam and Dean were. Jason hung up the phone without another word.

Then Chuck came around the desk and held Kevin while he cried. That was all he could think of to do.

Cas was enjoying his new job very much. The director had been impressed with his ability to make the fight scenes look so realistic, and he had been able to make some useful suggestions on how the weapons should be utilized. Everyone on the set liked him, but more than a few of them wondered what he had done for a living before he'd come here. Cas was vague, noncommittal. It was what he did best. Dean could have told them that.

Since much of his work took place at night, Gail had requested the night shift in the poker room so she could spend time with him during the day before they had to go to work. Since they didn't sleep, fatigue wasn't a problem, and she enjoyed the night shift just as much. She missed Barry, though. He was heading out just as she was coming in. But they'd exchanged phone numbers, and she and Cas had finally accepted his invitation to dinner that coming weekend. They could no longer beg off without seeming rude. She figured they'd have to have a bit to eat and drink and then plead stomachaches or something.

Gail was walking home from work when it happened. Cas had been upset when she told him she didn't want to take a cab home every night. Many times, by the time one showed up, she could be home already, she'd told him. He worked a bit longer into the night than she did, and she liked to be there when he got home to exchange stories about their nights. She also liked the fresh air and exercise, and the weather was really nice now. And there hadn't been a hint of trouble since they'd been here. She had her Angel blade in her purse, and a small vial of holy water they'd brought with them from the bunker. She'd be fine. So, against his better judgment, Cas had given in. It's not like he could have stopped her, anyway. He loved Gail, but she was so stubbornly independent sometimes.

That night, Gail was distracted when she was walking home. She'd started to get a hinky feeling, much like the feeling she'd had at the Supernatural convention the day before her murder. It was nothing she could put her finger on. She didn't feel like she and Cas were in any imminent danger, yet she'd started to feel dread for no apparent reason. What could it be? It was times like these that she kind of missed her psychic powers. What good was it having just a general sense of foreboding when you had no idea what it was connected to or what to do about it?

Thus distracted, Gail wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she should have been. A man came up behind her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around.

"Give me your money," he said.

"I don't have any," she told him. It was true. She and Cas had agreed it wasn't a good idea for her to be walking around with cash on her. They kept Cas's poker winnings in a bureau drawer in the apartment. They couldn't open a bank account, for obvious reasons. Gail threw her tips and the cash salary that Gloria paid her at the end of each week into the same drawer, and Cas was going to ask for his salary under the table too, pleading a vengeful ex-wife. And if they wouldn't accommodate his request, it didn't really matter. They had plenty right now, and if he had to, he could play a little poker on his days off. If they needed cash for anything, they'd just take it out of the drawer.

But Gail hadn't needed any cash, so she had none now. The would-be thief didn't believe her. He gestured to her purse. "Hand it over."  
She couldn't do that. The purse had her Angel blade in it, and it also held the picture of her and Cas in Las Vegas. It was silly, she knew, but ever since he had stopped coming to the poker room, Gail had taken to putting the photo in her purse and taking it to work with her, propping it up next to the phone at the poker desk. If she couldn't be with him, at least she could glance at him from time to time. Barry had teased her mercilessly when he'd seen her do that, and so had the other poker supervisors, but she didn't care. Then at the end of her shift, back it went into her purse, to make the trip with her back home to get propped up on the nightstand by the bed. It had become a ritual for her now, and the photo was a talisman, a symbol of what their lives could and should be like.

There was no way this guy was going to get her photo, and if she let him get his hands on her Angel blade, he could kill her with it. So Gail clutched the purse tighter and said, "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

Now he produced a knife of his own. It was an ordinary knife, but it was still a weapon, and now she had angered him. "I think you can," he said to her. "Give it here, bitch."

Crap. Gail planted her feet and centered her body as Sam and Dean had taught her. This guy was quite a bit bigger than her, but Gail had fought Sam before in the training room. She'd never beat him, though. Not once.

Barry was walking along the seawall towards the casino when he saw them. He started to walk faster. How had Cas known? He'd called Barry on a break from shooting earlier and asked him to go there and check on Gail. Cas had had that same hinky feeling all night, and though he told himself he was being paranoid, he just couldn't shake it. He'd intended to go there himself in a bit, but they'd told him there was just one more quick sequence to shoot. But the lighting hadn't been right and as the technicians fiddled with it, Cas realized he wasn't going to make it in time for the end of Gail's shift, so he'd called Barry. Could he please do Cas a favour and walk her home? Barry was a little surprised, but Cas had really sounded worked up, so he said he'd do it. It was just as well that it would be Barry showing up instead of him, Cas had joked, trying to ease the tension he was feeling. One look at Cas, and Gail would probably kill him for being so overprotective.

But apparently, he had been right to worry. Barry saw the man attack Gail. She was able to dodge him once, and she grabbed his arm to try to force him to drop the knife, but she missed the pressure point she'd been going for and he stabbed her in the stomach. Dammit, when was she ever going to learn to protect her flank?

Barry ran then, yelling, "Hey!" and he startled the attacker. The man had been about to grab Gail's purse, but she had fallen on it, so he merely ran away. Barry raced to Gail's side.

"Gail!" he exclaimed, then he rolled her over and saw the wound. "Oh crap, oh, crap," Barry muttered. This was bad. He pulled out his cell phone to call an ambulance.

"No. No ambulance," Gail said to him. "Call Cas." They were Angels now. Cas could heal her.

"Don't worry, I'll call him on the way. But we've got to get you to the hospital," Barry said to her. "Don't move."

Gail wasn't sure if she could. This was starting to feel awfully familiar. It would be nice just to get through one complete change of seasons without somebody sticking her with a knife. But she was an Angel again, and though her wound hurt, it had been inflicted with an ordinary knife. She didn't want to go to the hospital. She just wanted to see Cas.

But then the ambulance was here, and they were grabbing her and loading her into it. Barry got in the back with her, holding her purse with one hand and calling Cas with the other.

OK, this was bad. Would they be able to tell that she wasn't a human when they started treating her? What would she do then? She should have listened to Castiel and just taken a cab home. If she got out of this without being discovered, she swore she'd never be so stubborn again.

Castiel had gotten the call from Barry just after they'd finally finished the scene, and he ran outside the studio building and around the corner. Seeing no one, he disappeared, then reappeared outside the hospital Barry had advised they were going to.

He saw the ambulance pull up. The attendants wheeled Gail out and into the emergency room, Barry trailing behind, holding Gail's purse.

He should hang back for a few minutes. How could he explain having gotten there so fast? He couldn't, of course. She would likely be just fine, or would be, once he was able to get in and heal her. But Castiel had seen Gail's purse, and he was reminded that she'd been carrying her Angel blade. He had to make sure. And she needed him.

So Castiel rushed into the hospital after them. As he had expected, Barry's mouth dropped open. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked Cas. "I flew," Cas joked grimly. He tried to take Gail's hand, but they were wheeling her away.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in there," a nurse said to him, blocking his way. Oh, the hell he couldn't. "Family members only."

"Say you're her husband," Barry murmured to him.

"I'm her husband," Cas repeated to the nurse.

"Oh. Sorry," she said, stepping aside. "Go right in, then."

Cas threw Barry a grateful look. "Go. I'll wait here," Barry told him.

Castiel drew the drape open and saw an intern applying pressure to Gail's wound. He looked up at Cas. "You can't be in here right now," the intern said to him.

"I'm her husband," Cas repeated.

"I don't care," the intern retorted. "You'll have to wait outside. I have to get this under control."

Gail was pale, but she was conscious, and she looked up at Castiel, giving him a grimace and a half-shrug. There was nothing they could do at the moment. She was in pain, but once the intern moved on to another patient, Cas could come back and help her.

But he lingered, and she could see the worry on his face. "Go talk to Barry for a minute," she reassured him. "He's still got my purse, and it's got my souvenir from home in it. It's still clean, and I don't want him to dirty it up."

Cas got it. She was telling him that her Angel blade was still in her purse, and that her attacker hadn't used it on her.

"Oh, and send Barry home," Gail added. "He has to get up for work in the morning. Tell him I'll be fine."

Now she was telling him to get rid of Barry. He'd have had to send him on his way anyway; it wouldn't do to have Gail waltz out of here in a minute, her wound gone, with Barry right outside. He'd already noticed how impossibly fast Castiel had gotten here.

"Will do," Cas said to Gail. "I'll be back in just a minute," he added, looking at the intern when he said it. If this guy thought he was going to keep Cas out for long, he had another think coming.

Cas came back out into the waiting room, and Barry stood. "How is she?" he asked. "Why aren't you still in there?"

"They kicked me out," Cas said. He put his hand on Barry's arm and smiled. "She'll be fine, don't worry." Then his expression turned serious. "I wanted to thank you, Barry. Thank you again for taking care of her, and for being so kind to us. You're a good friend."

Then he was hugging Barry, and Barry returned the hug, touched. Cas was such a good guy. He was also a little bit of a puzzle. How HAD he gotten here so fast? He was a total marshmallow when it came to Gail, but Cas had a quality to him Barry couldn't quite figure out. He was quietly macho, if there was such a thing. He spoke gently and didn't swagger around the poker room like many of the players did, yet no one messed with Cas or would even try. But here he was, giving Barry a warm hug, not in the least bothered by Barry's sexuality. There were other players Barry had known for years who were nice to Barry's face but would shrink back if they thought he was going to touch them, and he had heard them use homophobic slurs in conversation. Cas and Gail could teach them a thing or two about tolerance, Barry thought. He loved his new friends, and he was glad Gail was going to be all right.

Cas pulled out of the embrace. "You need to go home, Barry. You've got to get up for work in the morning."

"Okay. As long as Gail will be all right," Barry said. "But I guess dinner's off on Sunday, right?"

Cas considered for a moment. This would be a valid excuse to get out of it. But he didn't want to disappoint Barry, and he and Gail had been curious to meet Tommy. They'd have to keep up the pretense for a bit, though. Maybe Gail could wear a fake bandage and walk gingerly for a while. He smiled. "Let's just play that by ear," Cas told Barry. "She might just feel up to it. She's surprisingly resilient. And we've both been looking forward to meeting Tommy."

"OK. Good." Barry had better get out of here now. He was dangerously close to tears. He'd been extremely upset to see Gail attacked like that, and Cas's hug and support of his lifestyle meant the world to him. "Here," he said, handing Gail's purse to Cas. "Let me know how she's doing, OK? Or have her call me herself, if she's up to it. I'll let Gloria know she'll be off till further notice."

Oh. Right, Castiel thought. Gail could hardly show up for work tomorrow as if nothing had happened. Well, she might be mad about it, but there was nothing they could do now. He needed to talk to her about their circumstances anyway.

Barry left then, and Castiel went back inside to where Gail was. She was alone, so he drew up a chair by her bedside and closed the drapes around them for privacy. He sat down and looked at her. "Barry went home," Cas said, putting Gail's purse on the bed by her feet.

"He's such a sweetheart," Gail said, smiling. "I wonder what he was doing there so late at night, though."

"I sent him," Castiel admitted. "I was worried about you."

Gail sighed. She should have figured as much. But considering what had happened, she'd better not say anything right now.

"What happened, Gail?" Castiel asked her.

"It was just an ordinary mugger with an ordinary knife," she replied. "He wanted money, but I didn't have any. Then he wanted my purse, and he sure as hell wasn't going to get that. It has my you-know-what in it, and that picture of you and me in Vegas." She smiled. "My most prized possession."

Castiel wasn't sure if he should smile or frown. An "ordinary" mugger? Well, he guessed that beat what he'd originally feared when Barry had called him. But now he had something extra to worry about. As if it wasn't bad enough that both Demons and Angels had attacked Gail in the past, now he had to protect her from humans, too? And would she even accept his protection? He wouldn't give her a choice. But they were wasting time talking here. He had to fix her up and they had to get the hell out of this hospital before the intern came back.

He rose from the chair and lowered the rail on her bed so he could sit by her side, and lifted her top so he could get at the wound. Gail couldn't help but smile. "How I wish you were doing that in a different context," she quipped, and he raised his eyes to hers. "Me, too," he smiled back, then looked at her stomach. He was dismayed to see that the intern had wrapped a tight bandage around the wound. How could he heal it if he couldn't get at it?

"I know," Gail said. "There was nothing I could say without arousing suspicion. I think there might be scissors in the nightstand."

There were, Cas was glad to see, and he used them to cut the adhesive tape around the bandage. Then he began to lift the bandage away from the wound, but he was doing it too gingerly, too slowly, and she hissed in pain. "Just rip it off, Cas, please," she pleaded. It would hurt a lot, but at least it would only last a moment.

He nodded. She was right. But this was going to hurt her, and they couldn't afford to call attention to themselves. So he put one hand over her mouth and grabbed the end of the bandage with the other.

"I'm sorry, Gail," he said. She nodded briefly, and he yanked the bandage off.

Yikes! Gail's eyes teared up and she moaned into his hand. But she'd tried to be as quiet as she could, and luckily, no one came.

The bleeding had started again, but Cas put both of his hands on her stomach and an instant later, she was completely healed.

"Phew," Gail said. She leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks." She looked down at herself. "I guess I'll have to buy a new top. Come on, give me my purse and let's get out of here."

"My thoughts exactly," Castiel said. Gail hopped off the bed, and Cas took her hand and grabbed her purse and winked them back home.

They were both happy to be home, but soon they were arguing.

The instant they had appeared back in their apartment, Castiel handed Gail her purse and she took it into the bedroom. He knew what she was doing, and he followed her, needing to talk. Sure enough, Gail was taking her picture out of her purse and propping it up on the nightstand.

Castiel smiled involuntarily, but he made himself stop. He wanted to have a serious discussion.

Gail turned from the nightstand and was a little surprised to see Cas standing right there. He had that look on his face.

She sighed. "What is it, Cas?"

How to start? "Barry is going to advise Gloria you won't be back to work for a while."

Oh. She hadn't really thought about that. Gail had been planning to show up tomorrow night as usual. Or more accurately, later tonight. It was pretty late by now. But Barry had seen how bad her wound had been. She couldn't just walk in there fully healed, whistling a happy tune.

"OK, I'll be 'sick' for a couple of days," Gail said agreeably. "Then I'll go back after the weekend, and I'll move slowly. I do want to go to the dinner, though. I've been looking forward to that."

He'd thought she might say that. Castiel had no problem with the dinner. He'd been thinking along the same lines. But he had something to say to her, something she wasn't going to like.

"I don't want you going back there," he told her. "I want you to quit."

"Why?" Gail asked him.

"Because if I'm on the set, I can't be there to protect you."

Gail was frustrated. "We talked about this before we even came here, remember? There will be times when we'll have to be apart. I can't rely on you all the time. I just need to pay closer attention to my surroundings. And I need to work on protecting my flank better." She smiled wryly. "You know that's my weak spot."

Yes, he remembered all too well. Castiel winced at the memory of having stabbed her himself in the bunker's training room. He knew she hadn't meant any harm by her remark, but the memory still hurt him like his own stab wound. She'd been trying to disarm him with humour, but it was not going to work this time.

"No, Gail," Castiel said. "That's it. I'm putting my foot down."

Gail laughed. "Really? You think so?"

"Yes, I think so," he retorted. "He might have taken your blade out of your purse and killed you."

That was true. But..."So what am I supposed to do? Just quit the best job I've ever had, and, what? Do what with myself?"

Castiel sighed, thinking about that. He knew how much she liked the job, and he understood the need to have a purpose, but he couldn't allow it. She needed to be with him. "Maybe I can get you a job on the show," he said to her.

"Doing what?" she said. "I don't know anything about that kind of thing."

"Neither did I," Castiel said, warming to the idea now. "But it's worked out very well."

But Gail continued to protest. She really liked the poker room, and co-workers like Barry, and most of the players. She'd found something she liked doing and was really good at. Barry had even said that he was going to switch to nights in a couple of weeks so they could work together again. Tommy would just have to deal with it, he'd said.

"No, Castiel, I'm not going to quit," she told him, looking him in the eyes.

Good Lord, she was stubborn sometimes. Couldn't she see he was trying to keep her alive? His eyes flashed. "Yes, you are," he said.

They stared at each other. Gail knew where he was coming from, but she was exasperated.

"Cas, there hasn't been one ounce of a threat since we got here. Yes, I got mugged, and that wasn't fun. But that kind of stuff happens to people from time to time, and they get over it. We have to live our lives. I can't let that stop me from doing what I want to do."

"Just because there hasn't been a threat from our world yet doesn't mean there won't be one," Castiel said firmly.

"OK, fine, whatever you say," Gail said, throwing up her hands. "You're always right, anyway. But the only threats we've faced here have been Barry finding you attractive and a bird flying in our bedroom!" Humour. Her go-to defense mechanism.

Castiel knew what she was doing, but he couldn't resist asking, "And how was the bird a threat?"

"Well...it might have pooped on your new TV!" she exclaimed.

They stood there, staring at each other, and then they both broke up laughing. It was great when they were able to laugh individually, but when they laughed together, it was glorious.

Castiel stepped forward and drew her into his arms. How could he be angry at her?

Gail felt the same way. She was being stubborn and stupid. There was no way she could ever choose a job over her relationship with Cas. Of the two, it was no contest which she loved more. She hugged him back, and kissed his face. "OK, Cas, I'll quit. I just hope they can find something for me to do there."

He looked down at her, thankful she had given in before he'd had to resort to drastic measures. Although what those would have been, he was sure he didn't know. He loved Gail just as she was, but Castiel was sometimes convinced their Father had sent Gail to him just to test him further. Oh well, no matter. He'd gladly take that test for the rest of eternity.

The next day, Cas and Gail appeared in his usual spot on the studio grounds. He knew they weren't really supposed to do that, but it had been much quicker and easier than getting there any other way. When he'd first told Gail what he'd been doing, she'd rolled her eyes. She should have figured as much. They'd agreed to keep the Angel stuff to a minimum, and here he was, popping in and out to commute. But, what the hell. The rules they'd made for themselves were only guidelines, anyway; they were pretty much making it up as they went along. Gail had to admit it WAS much quicker and easier, and this way they could spend more time together alone before he had to start work. As long as they weren't seen, it should be fine.

But they were seen. He hadn't seen how they'd actually arrived, but Neal saw them walking hand in hand towards the offices. He recognized Gail from the poker room, of course. He guessed Cas had received permission to take her on a tour before she had to go to work. Neal knew she was now working nights, likely coordinating her schedule with Cas's. He'd seen her in the poker room last week. Maybe he'd swing by there in a little while, play a bit.

Castiel and Gail went to Richard's office. His door was open and he was sitting behind his desk.

"Hi, Richard, can I talk to you for a minute?" Cas said.

Richard looked up. "Sure, Cas, come on in."

Cas pulled Gail by the hand. She was feeling a bit shy. This place was not her milieu, and she thought it was crazy for them to be walking in here wanting Richard to just hand her a job. They'd already accommodated Cas on the salary thing; how far did they want to push it? And did she really want some random job that was given to her just to make Cas happy, anyway? Though they'd made up and cuddled last night as usual, Gail was still a bit upset she'd have to quit the poker room. But she had agreed to do it, so she'd better let that go.  
Cas made his request, and Richard raised his eyebrows. He liked Cas, and was pleased that he'd worked out for them so well, but now he was asking them to hire his girlfriend, and Richard didn't know if he could do that.

"I don't know, Cas," Richard said, frowning. "There are already a lot of people in the industry that would love to work on this show."

"I'll have to quit if we can't work something out," Cas said.

Gail tried not to roll her eyes. This was not the way to get a human to do what you wanted them to do, she thought. She had to remember that though Castiel had had a lot of experience with humans, he may not have had a lot of experience with negotiation. In their world, much of the negotiating Castiel would have done would likely have been done at the end of his blade. She smiled inwardly.

She nudged Cas. "What he means is, we would appreciate anything you could do to help us out," Gail said, smiling at Richard. She spun the same tale for Richard as she had for Gloria about the fictional ex of hers and the restraining order, saying that Cas just wanted to make sure she was safe.

Unbeknownst to the couple, Richard and his wife had done some volunteering for an association that raised funds for battered womens' shelters. It was a cause very near and dear to their hearts. Their niece had died at the hands of an abusive boyfriend, and Richard had vowed to do anything he could to ensure that no other woman would have to suffer like that. His heart went out to the couple, sitting there holding hands, looking at him so hopefully. He didn't want anything to happen to Gail and he thought more of Cas for trying to protect her. The lot was a secure facility, and there were always people around.

So he said, "OK, Gail, we'll find something for you. Just do me a favour and don't leave the lot without Cas or someone else with you, OK?"

She smiled at Richard. He was being so kind. Gail felt kind of bad to be lying to him that way, but in a way she hadn't been lying. There WAS someone out there after them, although when he showed up, the guards and the gates wouldn't be able to stop him.

Kevin burst into God's office and confronted Xavier. Laurel had tried to stop him, but he'd ignored her.

"How could you?" Kevin yelled at Xavier.

Xavier straightened up in his chair. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Kevin said. He was in God's office, and this asshat was sitting where Bobby should be sitting right now. Kevin's hands curled into fists. It was taking all the willpower he had not to just reach across the desk and strangle this guy with his bare hands. But then he would be no better, and he couldn't help Chuck to help Cas and Gail if he was in prison. There was nothing he could do to help Sam and Dean now, though. But they were experienced Hunters, and they could kick ass. He'd just have to pray they'd be all right.

"You sent Jason after my mother, and the bastard killed her!" Kevin said to Xavier, seething.

Xavier was surprised. Jason had killed Linda Tran? That wasn't supposed to happen. He was just supposed to menace her to pry information out of Kevin. Xavier hadn't heard from Jason. He'd been hoping that meant that Kevin had given him the information on the Angels and that Jason was on the way to apprehend them.

"I'm sorry, Kevin," Xavier said. Really trying to mean it. "That was not my intent."

His intent? Kevin's intent would be to punch this guy in the face in about two seconds. What a cold-hearted bastard. Where was the real God, anyway? He needed to come out of retirement and smite this guy out of His chair. And what about Kevin's poor mother? What had she ever done to deserve what Jason had done to her?

"Jason was not supposed to do that," Xavier continued stiffly. "His instructions were merely to pay your mother a visit to encourage you to disclose whatever information you may have on the Angels."

"Well, he killed her!" Kevin shouted. "And then he threatened to carve up Becky's face if I didn't tell him where the Winchesters were!"

Xavier perked up. "Did you?"

"Yes, of course I told him!" Kevin exclaimed. Xavier didn't seem to be getting it. The man in his employ was a dangerous psychopath, and as much as he hated Xavier right now, Kevin couldn't let himself believe that anyone sitting in God's chair would approve of or sanction Jason's actions.

"Good," Xavier said. "You did the right thing, Kevin. The Winchester humans will know where the Angels are, I am sure of it. Then Jason can return Castiel to Heaven and we can finally hold the tribunal." He smiled.

Then it hit Kevin like a ton of bricks. Xavier was nuts, maybe even crazier than Jason. All he cared about was his stupid tribunal, and putting Cas away so he could imbed his assprint in God's chair. Xavier didn't give a damn about anything or anyone, as long as he got what he wanted.

"Where's my mother?" Kevin asked Xavier in a calm, quiet voice, not unlike Cas's dangerous tone.

"What?" Xavier asked, startled.

"You heard me."

Yes, where WAS Linda Tran, anyway? The simple answer was: nowhere. Xavier was sitting in God's chair but he didn't have God's power, not yet, anyway. So he had no ability and no authority to deal with the disposition of her soul. When Castiel was gone and Xavier was able to formally assume the Office, he would be able to enter the alcove that held the vial that God had breathed into when He'd retired. It was a failsafe agreed to years ago; God and the 7 members of the Upper Echelon, along with the Originals. Even Crowley had been allowed a vote in this special case. They'd all decided it was a good idea to have a vial of Godlike powers put aside in the case of the unthinkable. Then, whatever Angel the tribunal decided was worthy to take over the High Office would be able to access God's powers and truly do His job.

But until that triumphant day, Xavier could do nothing for Linda's soul, and he told Kevin this now.

"So she's just...gone?" Kevin felt himself dangerously close to tears again. But he tried to stick with the feeling of righteous anger. There was no way he was going to give this guy the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

"Her spirit remains," Xavier told Kevin. He really thought he was being comforting. "She is in what humans would call 'limbo'."

Kevin was done here. He had reached his limit. He'd gotten a non-answer, but he had his answer about Xavier. He and Chuck were going to start a grassroots rebellion. Maybe they could get some of the other, younger Angels to join them. Two Prophets should be able to tell who was with them and who was not, if they opened their minds wide enough.

He stalked out of Xavier's office. No, God's office; Xavier was just a squatter there, and he would rue the day he'd decided to screw with Linda Tran's son.

Sam and Dean were in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. They'd just put another vengeful spirit to rest, and the case had been a complicated and protracted one. They were both wiped, and were heading back to the motel for a good night's rest before moving on. They'd stayed on the road, hopping from town to town, never staying in one place for too long. But they hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jason, and Sam was getting a little fed up. He missed the bunker and the comforts of home, and he was feeling cranky.

Dean was annoyed with Sam's complaining. He kind of missed the bunker too, but he preferred the road to the idea of holing up in the bunker and never coming out. But he was trying to use humour to jolly Sam out of his petulant mood, much like Gail sometimes did with Cas.

"Maybe we should see if there are any cases in Vancouver, Canada," Dean said. "See Cas in action." He had been equal parts appalled and amused when Gail had called them a while back to tell them about Cas's new job.

"He's working for those Supernatural bastards?" Dean had exclaimed.

"They're not bastards, they're very nice people," Gail had retorted. "What happened in Vegas wasn't their fault. He really enjoys it, Dean, and he's really good."

Dean couldn't help but smirk at that. Yeah, Cas would be good, all right. Though none of them had better piss him off, or they might end up having a more realistic fight than they'd bargained for.

Sam turned to Dean now and couldn't help but grin himself. "I still can't believe he's doing that," Sam said. "We've gotta start watching that show now, I guess."

Dean glanced at Sam, wondering what he could grab to throw at his brother. As if. Still, he had to admit that he'd love to see Cas on the set of a TV show. It had been funny enough when Cas had been playing poker full-time. He wished he and Sam could be up there with Cas and Gail. Their Angel friends were living their lives like humans, and he and Sam were skulking around. What a role reversal. Cas and Gail were the ones on the run, yet it sounded almost like they were having another holiday, and he and Sam felt like they were the ones on the run.

Suddenly, Sam sat up straighter in the passenger seat. "We can't stay here tonight, Dean."

"What do you mean?" Dean grumbled. "I know we've got to keep moving, but I need some decent sack time. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

"Then I'll drive, and you'll have to sleep here in the car," Sam insisted. "We've gotta grab our stuff and go. He's coming, Dean."

"Who's coming?" Dean asked. Sam looked at him. "Jason? How the hell would you know?"

Sam didn't know how he knew. He just knew. "I don't know, Dean, just humour me, okay?"

Dean could tell his brother was seriously agitated now. "OK, Sammy, OK," he said, "calm down."

But Sam didn't feel calm now, not at all. Jason was coming for them, and he and Dean knew exactly where Cas and Gail were and where to find them. He regretted having encouraged Dean to trick the information out of them. Sam was sure Jason wouldn't come alone this time. If they didn't put Jason and his men down, would he be able to make them crack?

Jason had come alone, and he missed the brothers by a mere hour. Xavier had called him on Angel Radio, telling him to return immediately for his report. Jason hadn't wanted to go, eager to trap the Winchesters and begin the interrogation. Now that he'd killed one human, the old thirst had reawakened. But Xavier had reminded Jason who the boss was, and he had reiterated that Jason could have all the humans he wanted once Xavier had the Office. Yes, Xavier knew exactly who and what Jason was. Linda Tran's murder shouldn't have surprised him at all. But he still wanted an explanation from Jason. It wouldn't do to let Jason go too far off the rails, not when Xavier had not yet reached his goal.

By the time he'd made his report to Xavier and gotten back to the motel in Pittsfield, Sam and Dean Wichester were gone. Jason pounded on the door jamb in frustration once he'd blasted open the door and found no one inside.

But he still had Kevin, and Kevin still had Becky. The Winchesters were humans, and they couldn't outrun a vision. Jason would have them today, or Becky would pay the price.

Kevin was too traumatized by his mother's death to see anything, and he was worried. He didn't want to give Sam and Dean up to Jason, he really didn't. He'd been happy to hear that Jason had missed them.

But Jason was standing in his office now, turning his blade over in his hands, the same blade that had been used to kill Kevin's mother. Taunting him with it. Using it to "caress" Becky's face in the framed picture Kevin had on his desk now. And Kevin couldn't see a damn thing.

He sighed. He really hated to do it, but Kevin felt like he had no choice. "Chuck might know where they are. I swear to you, on my mother's grave - " he glared at Jason when he said it, but Jason didn't seem to care " - I don't know."

"Chuck?" Jason said. "The former Prophet?"

"Not so former any more, I guess," Kevin said dully.

Jason wheeled around and left Kevin's office. Kevin quickly called Chuck in the library, apologizing profusely. But Chuck told him it was OK. He could handle Jason. Chuck hung up the phone. Who was he kidding? But, better him than Kevin. Let them leave the poor guy alone for a while; let him at least mourn his mother.

So when Jason arrived at the library, Chuck was ready for him.

"You're wasting your time," Chuck sneered. "I'm not going to tell you a damn thing. And you don't have anything to hold over my head. I don't love anyone, and no one loves me. I'm an ass, and a creep. Ask around." His tough-guy facade. He'd always wanted to be a fearless, tough-guy hero. Like Clint Eastwood. Or Castiel.

But Jason was looking at him, smiling grimly. "That may be true. But rumour has it you're one of the good guys now. You wouldn't want to see me carve up Becky either, would you? Or, how about young Kevin?"

Crap. Jason would do it, too. So much for being a tough guy. Chuck could have tried to withstand it if Jason had tortured him, but there was no way he could let Jason near Becky or Kevin. Being a good guy wasn't easy, was it? Maybe for the first time, Chuck had a true appreciation of what Castiel and Gail had been through. What Chuck himself had helped put them through.

"I'll tell Xavier, if you'll take me to him," Chuck said, going for the desperation play. Jason just stared at him, so Chuck continued, "If I don't give him the information, you can go ahead and do what you said."

Jason shrugged. He had nothing to lose.

Neal and Barry were chatting in the poker room. Neal mentioned that he had seen Gail and Cas on the lot a little while ago. Barry looked at him curiously. "That can't be," he said. He told Neal the terrible story of what had happened to Gail last night. Cas had called him this morning to tell him that Gail was going to be OK, but she was still on the mend and getting some rest. They still planned to come for dinner on Sunday, but Gail was still in a lot of pain so they wouldn't be able to stay late. Cas hadn't mentioned anything over the phone about Gail quitting the poker room. Gail had wanted to tell Barry face to face, since he'd been such a good friend to them. And she had planned to stop by Gloria's office first thing Monday morning and tell her personally also, thanking her for the opportunity. If she was going to have to do this, she was at least going to try to be professional about it.

"So that can't be Gail you saw with him," Barry said to Neal. "It must have been someone else."

"I know what Gail looks like," Neal argued. "They were walking hand in hand, and she laughed at something he said, then he hugged her. If she was hurt as badly as you say, it must have been a hell of a miraculous recovery."

Barry was due to go off shift, so he wished Neal good luck and left the poker room. But he thought about Cas, appearing at the hospital mere minutes after they'd spoken on the phone, joking that he'd flown there. And now there was Gail, showing up with Cas at the studio the next day, apparently fully recovered from a very serious wound. Even if she'd been bandaged to the hilt, there was no way she should have been able to move that easily that soon. And Cas had lied to him this morning. He'd said that Gail was on painkillers and sleeping, and that she was still in a lot of pain. What the hell was going on? Well, he intended to find out Sunday. Tommy would help him find out. His boyfriend was an investigative reporter, and a good one. Together, they would pry some secrets out of those two.

Jason ushered Chuck into Xavier's office and pushed him into a chair opposite the desk. Chuck glared at Jason. What a dick. He wondered how tough Jason would be without that blade to back him up.

"Go ahead, tell him," Jason said to Chuck.

"I want to talk to Xavier alone," Chuck said firmly, trying to keep his voice steady.

"It's all right, Jason. Leave us," Xavier ordered.

Jason was angry at Chuck's insolence, and upset to be dismissed that way. But Xavier was the boss, and he would share what was disclosed with Jason. And if Chuck reneged, Jason would have to cut one of the young Angels in retaliation, maybe both, just to show he was sincere. The ball was in Chuck's court.

Once Jason had gone, Xavier looked at Chuck and said, "So, the Prophet Chuck, returned from Hell."

So it was going to be like that, Chuck thought. All right. He'd play. "Yes, God brought me back into Heaven. He felt I was deserving of another chance."

"God did? Oh, you mean Bobby Singer. If you could call him God. Which, of course, no one can, as he's abdicated his post." Xavier leaned forward. "In any event, I'm here now, and you will tell me where the Winchester humans are."

Chuck knew he would have to tell Xavier; that was what he had come here for, after all. But Xavier's attitude irritated him. "Maybe I will, and maybe I won't," he said, sitting back in the chair.

"I know that you know," Xavier said, gritting his teeth. "And you will tell me, or you'll tell Jason. I promise the conversation with me will be a lot less painful."

Chuck was outraged now. This guy fancied himself to be God, and he was threatening one of his Angels with torture? Granted, Chuck had not been an exemplary Angel, far from it, but still...Xavier was the Angel who was supposed to rule Heaven in Bobby and Castiel's absence? What kind of scumbag was he?

Chuck was about to find out.

"All right, maybe that was a little heavy-handed," Xavier said. "I understand from the reports I've read and the Prophecies - " Chuck winced inwardly at that " - that you're the kind of man who likes to, shall we say, look after himself. Once I am God, you can have anything your heart desires. I can give you untold riches, eternal life, female companionship, whatever you want, Chuck. Just tell me where the Winchesters are."

Holy crap, Chuck thought. Unbelieveable. Lucky he wasn't still evil; that would have been the deal of a lifetime. Yeah. The most unclean deal he would have ever made in his life.

"Wow," he said softly. "For a minute there, I would have sworn I was in Crowley's office. Do you even realize how you sound? At least I did an honest day's work when I was in Hell. Though with you running the ship, I don't see any difference."

Xavier was angry, but Chuck had also touched a nerve. Xavier considered himself a much better being than Crowley. Yes, Xavier had resorted to methods that were questionable, especially lately, but he had the responsibility of all of Heaven on his shoulders. No one seemed to realize that. And if only he could receive a little cooperation, those tactics need never be used. He'd expected resistance from humans, but not from his own Angels. And the insolence, too. "Fine," he said coldly. "I'll call Jason, then."

"No," Chuck said quickly. He'd received his answer, much like Kevin had earlier, and now he needed to do what he'd come here to do. There was no way out. So he told Xavier where Sam and Dean Winchester were, and when Jason came back into the office, he had five of his Enforcement staff as backup. This time Jason was taking no chances. Xavier gave him the address where the Winchesters were and Jason and his team disappeared from the office while Chuck slumped in his chair, feeling sick to his stomach.

God had been planning to enjoy His retirement a lot more, but He couldn't rest now. He realized that things were about to come to a head, and like Bobby with his spinning plates, He couldn't afford to glance away now.

Several of His children were receiving their mid-semester report cards, but there were still others to be heard from.

After Chuck had told Xavier the Winchesters' location, God had expected Xavier to pick up the Hotline and advise Crowley that they were on the brink of victory, as Xavier normally would have done. This would have left Crowley with his own decision to make, something God had very much been looking forward to seeing. God knew that Crowley had an almost inexplicable soft spot for the brothers, and He'd wanted to see if Crowley would try to warn his Moose and Squirrel, or let it stand. But Xavier hadn't called Crowley, perhaps still smarting from what Chuck had said. Xavier realized he'd probably have to advise the King of Hell once the Angels were finally apprehended, but for now, he wanted nothing to do with Crowley.

But, Crowley's non-decision aside, this was becoming fascinating, like one of those suspense novels you just couldn't put down until you'd read just a few more pages. The dominoes were all set up to fall, and several of His children's fingers were now wavering over them.

Jason had already started the process with his murder of poor Linda Tran. Poor Linda, poor Kevin. But her murder had had to occur, to stir up the sense of outrage and rebellion in Kevin and Chuck. The Prophets were to be great leaders in Heaven, and Linda's death had provided the necessary kick in the pants the two Angels had needed to shake them out of their fear and passivity.

Xavier had been right when he'd told that Linda's soul was currently in limbo. There would be a decision made regarding Linda, but God meant to see to it that Xavier would not be the one to make it. Even God Himself would need the help of some of His children to ensure that Xavier would not prevail, and help may yet have to come from some unexpected places.

God had stood up and cheered when Chuck had called out Xavier, comparing him with the King of Hell himself. Chuck's heroism had certainly been unexpected, considering what the former Prophet had been up to when God had cast him into Hell. Chuck had really opened up God's eyes, convinced Him that total redemption was possible for even the worst individual, if that individual wanted it badly enough.

Chuck wanted to be a tough-guy hero, and though God had his doubts about the tough-guy part, all the components were certainly there for Chuck to be a hero. Still, it was interesting. Many of Chuck's thoughts these days ran to alliteration, perhaps with a little assist from his Father. Heroes: Clint, Castiel, and...Crowley? His Son Crowley's original incarnation had been the first murderer, Cain. Another hard C. Funny, wasn't it?

And Canada was another.

Gail and Cas kept their dinner date at Barry and Tommy's place.

They were all sitting in the living room chatting. Barry offered drinks all around.

"I can't, I'm still on the painkillers," Gail told Barry. This wasn't true of course, but it was a ready-made excuse. She glanced at Castiel, raising her eyebrow. Sorry, Cas. I saw my opportunity, and I took it.

He smiled at her. No matter. He was used to having the occasional drink with Sam and Dean. "I'll have a beer, if you have any," he said to Barry.

"Me too," said Tommy.

Barry returned with the drinks, and the three men toasted.

"Here's to a full recovery for Gail," Barry toasted. He had been looking at her carefully since she'd walked in the door. She looked way better than most people would have so soon after such a savage attack, he thought.

Gail saw Barry looking at her. She'd have to try to remember to move gingerly while she was here. It was bothering her to be so deceptive with her friend, but what choice did she have? She'd better tell him soon that she was quitting her job; at least she should be honest with him about something.

So when Barry said he was going back into the kitchen to check on dinner, she let go of Cas's hand and said, "I'll come with. Give these guys a chance to get acquainted." She nodded at Tommy and Cas.

Just as Barry had been eyeing Gail, Tommy had been regarding Cas. Assessing him. Barry had been right, this guy was good-looking. But there was a lot more to him than that. He had a quality to him that Tommy couldn't quite pin down. Barry had told Tommy about how impossibly fast Cas had shown up at the hospital, the sighting of the couple at the studio a couple of days ago when Gail was supposed to have been laid up with her injury, and the fact that no one had ever seen either of the two eat or drink anything. Tommy had been amused. What did Barry think, they were vampires or something? It was a good thing that Tommy was the reporter, not Barry; his boyfriend had way too active an imagination.

And Cas was drinking a beer now, looking like an ordinary human man. Had what Barry had told him subconsciously influenced Tommy's perception of the couple? Tommy had also been studying Gail before she went into the kitchen, and he agreed that she didn't look nearly as injured as she should, resilient or not. She and Cas seemed to communicate with each other non-verbally at times, and they'd been constantly holding hands, but Tommy had seen many couples behave this way. Those were the kinds of couples that made a lot of people sick, Tommy thought with amusement, but it didn't bother him. Good for them. He often wished he and Barry could be more like that, especially in public. But society was still not quite ready for that, though things had improved over the last few years.

"What's it like behind the scenes of a hit TV show?" Tommy asked Cas.

Cas shrugged. "Busy, sometimes. Then there's a lot of waiting around while the technical people set up the shots. But I've been enjoying it. It's certainly different from anything I've done before."

"And what have you done before?" Tommy asked.

"A little of this, a little of that," Castiel said casually.

"How did you and Gail meet?" Tommy inquired, changing tactics. Maybe Cas would open up if asked about his favourite subject.

"Through friends," Cas said, smiling. He took another sip of his beer. His natural reticence was coming in handy. He and Gail had agreed not to divulge too many details about themselves that they'd have to compare notes about and remember later, but Castiel was accomplished at being evasive. Dean could have told Tommy that he was wasting his time.

And that was it. Hmmm. Barry had said that Cas didn't talk much, but how was Tommy supposed to figure this guy out if he couldn't get him to talk? The more Tommy looked at Cas, the more convinced he became that this guy was hiding something. But he seemed like a good guy. Barry sure spoke highly of him.

"Another beer?" Tommy asked Cas. Maybe if he could get a few beers into Cas, they would loosen his tongue.

"No thanks, I'm pacing myself," Cas replied. Then he smiled again. "I overindulged when Gail and I were in Vegas, and I paid the price. I'm not looking for a repeat anytime soon." Cas had sensed that Tommy was growing frustrated with his laconic answers, but he didn't mind volunteering this little tidbit. It was the truth, and he knew that Gail had told Barry a couple of Las Vegas stories. She'd kept the photo of the two of them by her at the poker desk, and had told Barry the story of Cas punching out the young poker player in Vegas after Cas had bested him. Barry had laughed and laughed, Gail told Cas.

Tommy raised his eyebrows. So, he does talk, he thought.

Barry and Gail were talking, too.

"I've got something to tell you," Gail said, putting her hand on Barry's arm.

"Yeah? What's that?" he said. Barry moved to the fridge and took out a bottle of wine, pouring himself a glass. He waggled the bottle. "Sure you don't want one?"

Gail sighed. She hadn't been looking forward to telling her friend she was quitting. Maybe a couple of sips of wine wouldn't hurt. Which was ridiculous, of course. She'd been living like a human for so long that she'd lapsed back into thinking like one. "Yeah, what the hell. Hit me," she said, grabbing a glass from the cabinet.

Barry started to pour, then stopped, frowning. "What about the painkillers?"

Crap. In her stress about having to tell Barry she was leaving the poker room, she'd forgotten that had been her excuse for not accepting a drink in the first place.

"Painkillers, schmainkillers," she said. "I haven't really needed that many anyway. I'm sure one glass won't hurt."

Barry handed it to her, and they clinked glasses. "To working together again soon," Barry said. "Maybe you can persuade Cas to come back on his day off. I miss him, too."

Gail would normally have teased him about that, feigning jealousy, but her heart wasn't in it. She took a gulp of wine and said, "About that...I'm really sorry, Barry, but...I'm quitting."

Barry's mouth dropped open. "What? Why?"

What could she tell him? She'd been angry at Cas for wanting her to quit, but she couldn't blame him, not really. The feeling that Jason was coming for them had been growing stronger over the last couple of days since her attack, and now Gail wanted to be near Castiel. Their idyllic time here was drawing to a close.

"There's someone out there who means us harm," she told Barry. She couldn't tell him everything, of course, but she wanted to tell him as much of the truth as she could. "The lot is secure, and Cas wants me near him." Not that it would matter in the end, she thought. She took another big swallow of wine, trying to get it past the lump in her throat. She'd miss this life.

"Your ex-boyfriend?" Barry scoffed. He knew about her original cover story, of course. "There are lots of guys in the poker room, me included, who would gladly take care of him for you."

Lucky Tommy picked that moment to come into the kitchen, looking for two more beers. He was going to insist that Cas have another, open up more. Gail averted her eyes from Barry's at that moment, blinking back the tears that were threatening to form. She missed Sam and Dean like crazy, and what Barry had just said had reminded her of the brothers so much.

Tommy had been hoping the second beer would loosen Cas's tongue, but it was loosening his instead. Cas had asked him what being a reporter was like, and he had lots of interesting and funny stories about working on a newspaper to share. Cas was fascinated by everything Tommy was telling him, and was asking probing and insightful questions. Just who was the reporter here, anyway? Tommy thought. How had he turned this thing around so expertly?

But Cas was a nice guy, a good listener, and Tommy liked him. He told Cas that all he wanted was that one good story, the one that would define his career. Leave a lasting mark. Didn't every writer want that?

Cas had smiled at that. Would he ever have a story for Tommy.

They'd also gotten around to the subject of Tommy and Barry's lifestyle, and Castiel was starting to feel those pangs of conscience again. Who cared what these men did in the privacy of their own bedroom? Was it anyone else's business anyway? He felt an affinity for Tommy as Tommy described how he and Barry were looked down on and persecuted by some people, most of whom didn't even bother to try getting to know the men as people before passing their judgment. Applying their own perceptions of morality to the way that the men conducted their lives. Wasn't that the same thing that Xavier was doing to him and Gail? Castiel didn't see any difference, and, minus the reference to Heaven of course, Cas told Tommy so.

Tommy thought that Cas was referring to the fact that he and Gail weren't married but were living together, and he found it funny that Cas actually knew people who still felt that way, at least about straight couples. People of the opposite sex lived common-law everywhere these days, and Tommy didn't know of anyone who had a problem with it. He sighed. He'd take that all day long.

Barry was disappointed that Gail would be leaving the casino, but he supposed he could understand. Her safety was the most important thing, and if she and Cas felt like it was the right thing to do, who was he to say otherwise? But he made her promise to come back to visit when she could.

Sure she would, Gail promised him. She and Cas would stop by soon, as soon as Cas got a day off. His shooting schedule had been pretty busy lately. The show was nearing the climactic season finale, and the Castiel character figured prominently in the story arc. Oh, the irony.

"What's he going to do when they're off for the summer?" Barry asked. "What are you going to do?"

Gail sighed inwardly. She guessed they wouldn't have to worry about that. They'd be back in Heaven and on trial by then. She was sure of it.

"I don't know, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she told him.

Barry was standing over the stove, stirring the gravy. "Hey, would you mind getting the pepper for me?" he asked Gail.

"Sure, where is it?"

He indicated the cabinet next to where she was standing. "In there. Second shelf."

Gail opened the cabinet and saw it. The second shelf was a little on the high side for her, more like Sam territory, but she could...just...reach it.

Barry had watched Gail retrieve the pepper, stretching with ease. Her top had lifted a bit, and he saw no bandage. OK, that was it. She'd been stabbed and bleeding on Friday, seriously injured, and look at her now. What the hell?

He looked back at the stove until she handed him the pepper, then Barry put the shaker on the counter and turned off the burner under the gravy. Then he faced Gail.

"It's a good thing you don't play poker," he said to her. "You're terrible at hiding things."

"What are you talking about?" Gail asked him, her heart sinking.

"This," Barry said, and lifted her top to reveal her smooth, unbandaged stomach. No wound, just a weird-looking tattoo on one side.

Crap. Double crap. Why hadn't she put a fake bandage on?

"I saw how bad your wound was. I was there, remember? Now, nothing, not even a scar? What's going on, Gail?"

She stared at Barry. She had no idea what to say. She grabbed her top away from Barry's hand and pulled it back down, then walked back out into the living room. Maybe Cas could come up with something.

Barry followed her. "Gail, talk to me!"

Cas put down his beer and stood as they came into the room.

"And you!" Barry said to him. "There's something fishy about you, too!"

Cas was puzzled. "What's wrong, Barry? What are you talking about?"

"Gail is fine," Barry said. "No wound, no scar, nothing! And how did you get to the hospital so fast that night?"

Gail and Castiel looked at each other. They'd both made mistakes. The question was, what were they going to do about it? How could they provide any kind of a plausible explanation?

"I'm sorry, Cas, I wasn't thinking," Gail said to him. She'd rarely felt so stupid in all her life.

But he'd made his own tactical error in appearing to Barry right after he'd been speaking to him on the phone. The TV show was filmed in a different city; it was a physical impossibility for Cas to have gotten to the hospital that quickly, even if he had flown, as he had tried to joke that he had. That had been stupid, too; although it was his concern for Gail that had prompted this rash behaviour, that was no excuse.

Castiel smiled grimly. He trusted two human men above all others, but now it seemed the time had come to trust two more. He took Gail's hand and looked at her. We're going to have to trust them, his eyes said. OK, Castiel, I think we can, hers said.

"Have a seat, Barry," Cas said, as he and Gail sat down. "We have that story for you, Tommy, but it's one you can never publish."

"Angels?" Tommy said skeptically. He looked at Barry, who stood up, went into the kitchen, and turned the oven and the stove off. Then he opened a cabinet and took out the bottle of brandy he and Tommy had been saving for a special occasion. He grabbed two snifters, then reconsidered and grabbed two more.

Barry returned to the living room and set the bottle and glasses in the middle of the coffee table.

"What the hell, Barry?" Tommy said to him.

Gail and Castiel exchanged glances. In that moment, Tommy and Barry reminded them so much of Sam and Dean that their faces were almost interchangable. The Angels smiled.

"I know, we were saving it for a special occasion," Barry said. "But I can't hink of anything more special than to find out your friends are genuine, honest-to-God Angels."

"You believe this?" Tommy asked him, astonished.

"Yes, I do," Barry said, smiling at Gail and Cas. "I knew there was something special about you two."

Tommy scoffed. "Yeah. Right. Angels in a casino. On a TV show." He turned to Castiel. "Barry's always believed in God and all that stuff. Me, not so much. Not when I've seen what people do in the name of religion. Not when I've been persecuted all my life for the way I feel."

Barry was dismayed. "Look, Tommy, I knew you felt that way when we got together. But I was hoping you would come around. Talk to him, you two."

"I don't blame you for the way you feel," Castiel said, and Gail looked at him, surprised. But she shouldn't have been, really. He continued, "Yes, people have done terrible things in the name of religion, and in the name of God. What humans have never realized is that there is only one so-called religion, but there are many different kinds of love, and love is love. We are all the same. Funny, flawed, and fallible." Chuck would have appreciated the alliteration. "We were made in His image, but we shape our own destinies, and we all have to choose for ourselves the path which is right."

Castiel looked at Gail, but she was already nodding when he said, "We have to go back."

Barry poured four shots of brandy, and they all had a toast.

Then Cas and Gail asked for pens and pieces of paper, and she wrote a note to Gloria, and he wrote a note to Richard. They each wanted to thank their employers for being so kind to them, and to express their regret that they had to leave town so suddenly.

As they were sealing the envelopes and giving them to Barry, Gail's cell phone rang. She opened her purse and took out the phone, feeling the dread in the pit of her stomach. There were only two people who had this number, and they were only supposed to call in case of dire emergency. This was it.

"Gail?" It was Sam's voice. "Jason's got Dean."

It was what they'd been dreading, and what Gail had been subconsciously expecting for the last few days. And here they had dawdled, making new friends, fooling themselves into thinking they were building a new life and could just move to another country with impunity. They'd finally decided to do the right thing, but was it too late?

Gail handed the phone to Cas and grabbed her purse, touching the photo of the two of them in Las Vegas that she'd put in there before they came here. Almost as if she'd known they wouldn't be coming back to the apartment. She hoped she'd be allowed to keep it when they got back to Heaven. Knowing Xavier, probably not. But she might have to risk an extra year or two in jail just to kick the ass of whoever tried to take it away from her, she thought with grim humour.

Barry and Tommy were staring at her and Cas. Barry looked like he was about to say something, but Gail held up her hand. Cas was on the phone.

"OK, Sam, stay where you are," Castiel said. "We'll be right there." He hung up the phone and looked at Gail. She looked back at him, eyes wide.

"It seems we have a situation on our hands," Cas said to her, mindful of where they were. They had told Barry and Tommy that they were Angels, but nothing else. The full story was too unbeliveable, and they had run out of time.

Cas and Gail hugged their friends, and said they'd try to stop by and see them again when they could.

"Sorry about dinner," Gail said to Barry, kissing him on the cheek, "but it would likely have been a moot point anyway." She tried a smile on, but it didn't quite fit.

Barry kissed her back, but he was troubled. He would have thought that they would be happy to be going back to Heaven. After all, wasn't that where everybody hoped to end up one day? These two looked like they were headed to their own funeral.

Castiel hugged Tommy, who found himself feeling surprisingly emotional. "I wish we'd gotten the chance to talk more," Cas said to him. "Don't give up on your faith, whatever it may be. There are decent people out there; you may not have met them yet, that's all."

Tommy smiled. "I just met two, tonight."

Gail came over to stand with them and she touched Tommy's cheek. "You take care of my fella, okay?" she said, nodding towards Barry.

"I will," Tommy assured her. His mouth twitched. "And you take care of mine." He nodded towards Cas, who smiled.

"I'll do my best," Gail replied, but her eyes were filling with tears. Her best likely wasn't going to be good enough in this situation.

She grabbed her purse with one hand and Cas's hand with the other, blowing a kiss to the men as she and Cas winked out of their apartment.

Barry and Tommy finished the bottle of brandy and sat up all night talking and when dawn came, they both said a prayer for their friends. Then they went to bed, falling asleep in each other's arms.

Castiel and Gail appeared in front of Sam, who was standing on the street corner a block away from his and Dean's motel room. Normally, Gail would have run to Sam and hugged him, but this situation was too serious. There would be time for hugs later, if they all got out of this alive.

"Tell me what's going on, Sam," Castiel demanded.

"I knew Jason was on our tail," Sam advised them. "Don't ask me how I knew; I just knew. So Dean and I had gotten in the habit of parking the car on the other side of any motel we were staying in, and registering under some of our fake FBI names." Castiel almost smiled. These methods might work on humans, at least for a short time. Sam continued, "But I forgot the book I was reading in the car and I really wanted to finish it, so I walked around to the other parking lot to get it and when I came back, I could see them through the window."

"How many are there?" Castiel asked quietly.

"Looked like four or five, besides Jason," Sam answered him. "They have him tied to a chair, and Jason had his blade out." Sam showed them the Angel blade he'd recovered from Las Vegas. "I've got mine, but Dean's is in the room with him. Have you guys got yours?"

"Of course," Castiel said, taking his out. He'd modified his blazer so that it now had an inside pocket, and had carried it with him every day since they'd been in Vancouver. Gail took hers out of her purse and touched the spring-release on the hilt, exposing the blade. Why hadn't she asked Castiel for that refresher? She didn't feel ready for this, not at all. If anything happened to any one of her guys, she would feel responsible. She'd been so busy playing human that she'd forgotten what was really important.

Castiel and Sam looked at Gail briefly, both of them thinking how to protect her, but she'd already started walking towards the motel in the direction that Sam had indicated. Sam and Cas exchanged glances. They were outnumbered; they just had to hope her training would kick in when they got there.

Sam knocked on the door. "Dean! Open up, I forgot my key," he called out.

Jason nodded to one of the other Angels, who moved to open the door. "Go away, Sammy! Jason's here!" Dean yelled. Jason backhanded him, then plunged his blade into Dean's hand for further emphasis.

When the Angel opened the door, Sam rushed forward and plunged his blade into the guy's chest, then stabbed and slashed at the Angel next to him. Two down, three to go, plus Jason. Castiel and Gail popped into the room then, and with the element of surprise on their side, Gail was able to kill one and Castiel fought and killed the other two.

Then it was just Jason, and he was standing over Dean, blade raised. "Well done, Castiel," Jason said sarcastically. "More charges under Count 6. And now we've got one for your girlfriend, too. And that count carries the death penalty."

"And just what were you going to do to Sam and Dean?" Gail retorted, her temper rising. "How is that any different?"

Still the same smart mouth on her. Jason moved away from Dean and faced Gail, looming over her, but she stood her ground. "You're a hypocrite," Gail said to him.

Jason itched to stab her in the chest right here and now, but he knew that Xavier would not stand for it. So he settled for slashing her arm with his blade. "That's one," he said. "I keep my promises."

Gail grimaced from the pain, but she said, "Oh, and you're an idiot, too."

While she had been goading Jason, distracting him, Sam and Castiel had freed Dean, and Castiel touched the humans' foreheads and sent them out of the room.

Gail took a breath as Jason realized what was happening and spun around. Castiel was moving towards them. Jason turned back to Gail and slashed her other arm. "That's two," he snarled.

Castiel grabbed Jason and threw him against the wall, then stabbed Jason's hand, forcing him to drop the blade. His other hand was around Jason's throat. "If you ever touch her again, you'll have to add another charge," he said quietly. He released Jason then, but did not drop his own blade. "I should just do it anyway. I'm a dangerous criminal, am I not?"

"Yes, you are," Jason said, "and soon all of Heaven will know it, too."

"Well then, let's go," Gail said, walking up to them, trying to be brave. Castiel reached out and healed the cuts on both of her arms, then took her hand.

Jason looked at them suspiciously. They had him at their mercy, and they were standing there holding hands.

"We're coming willingly, you idjit," Castiel said. "That was for you, Bobby. Wherever you are."

Gail smiled. If those were to be his last words on Earth, they weren't bad.

When he realized they were serious, Jason took out the cuffs with the sigils carved into them and cuffed both of them.

And when Sam and Dean finally made their way back to the room from wherever Cas had sent them, the Angels were long gone.

7 - OUTSIDE THE BONDS

Jason brought them into Xavier's office, each of his hands gripping one of their arms tightly, as if afraid they'd break free. He'd deliberately grabbed Castiel's arm with the hand his enemy had stabbed, bleeding all over the Angel's Earthly clothes, as if to make a statement.

But the Angels did not struggle. Not that they could have put up much of a fight. He'd cuffed both of them expertly, hands behind their backs, even the female. She was a murderer now, too. Jason smiled grimly. Well, they'd wanted to be together; let them be together in the execution chamber.

He pushed them down into the chairs opposite Xavier, then gave Xavier Gail's purse. "There's nothing in it but a photograph. Their blades have been confiscated," he told Xavier.

Gail glared at Jason. Maybe Castiel should have killed Jason when he'd had the chance. It should be Jason and Xavier who were going on trial, not them.

"Hello, Brother," Xavier said to Castiel. "Welcome back."

Castiel glared at him but said nothing.

So this was Xavier, Gail thought. She pictured the Upper Echelon meeting in her head where Castiel had lost it, putting his blade to Xavier's throat, and she smiled inwardly.

"And you must be Gail," Xavier said to her. She was momentarily startled, but then she reminded herself that he may be sitting in God's chair, but he didn't have God's powers. Therefore, he shouldn't be able to read her thoughts. Hmm. Too bad.

"Nothing to say?" Xavier asked her. "From what Jason has told me, I find that hard to believe."

Gail laughed shortly. "Oh, there are a lot of things I would like to say."

Xavier spread out his hands and gave her a tight smile. "Well then, by all means."

Castiel looked at her. "You know that I would never stop you, but you'd be wasting your breath," he said to Gail. Impossibly, his mouth was twitching, wanting to smile. Damn these cuffs. She wanted to hold his hand so badly.

"Yes, better save those breaths," Jason said. "You may not have many left."

He was so smug, Gail thought. She'd meant what she said back in the motel room. What a hypocrite.

Jason described the scene in Sam and Dean's room to Xavier, conveniently omitting his exchange with Gail and the confrontation with Castiel.

So, more charges of murder, Xavier thought. Well, it didn't really matter in Castiel's case; he had so many as it was. But now, Jason was telling him that Gail had also killed an Angel before being apprehended. Too bad for her; he had actually been prepared to let her go until the morning. Her charges had been scandalous but not gravely serious, unlike Castiel's. But now he would have no choice but to hold her in prison, until her charges could be heard. But the two would be kept far apart, of course.

Xavier took the photograph out of Gail's purse and looked at it. The picture itself was fairly innocuous, but the two Angels looked like humans in it and when Xavier flipped it over, there was a notation on the back that said it had been taken in Las Vegas. Might as well have Aurielle put it into the exhibits file. He handed it to Jason. "Here, can you swing by my old office and give it to my assistant for the evidence file?"

Jason took the picture and looked at it, smirking. "Hope you enjoyed yourselves," he said to the couple.

Gail was doing the slow burn, and Castiel could see it. He knew how she felt about that picture, and he wished that he could grab it out of Jason's hand and give it back to her.

But Gail said nothing. If she said what she wanted to say, suggested that Jason should do something to himself that was physically impossible, he would probably rip her precious picture to shreds. So she held her tongue, but just barely.

Jason put the picture in his pocket and looked at Xavier. "Should I take them now?" he asked.

"No, go ahead and deliver the picture to Aurielle and then come back. I want a moment with these two," Xavier told him.

Aurielle! Gail was horrified. She was Xavier's assistant? She looked at Castiel helplessly. What had they done? If she'd ever thought that there was even a sliver of a chance that they'd be treated fairly here, then she had been wrong.

Castiel was furious. He and Gail had taken the moral high ground by voluntarily returning to Heaven, and Xavier's assistant was the very Angel who'd been in league with Metatron, and had tortured and tried to kill Gail? Castiel had expected Xavier to come after him with both barrels at the tribunal, and he'd already started to think about possible defense strategies, but he hadn't thought that even Xavier would stoop so low.

Xavier saw Castiel's expression and smiled serenely. "I should have thought you would be happy, Brother Castiel," he said smugly. "You'll get to have your tribunal sitting alongside your little girlfriend as co-defendant. Of course, the charges against YOU are a lot more extensive, and Gail may be excused for them if she wishes, but if you don't mind her hearing all about your sordid past, she may stay. You can even hold hands if you wish. While you still can."

That was it. Gail had had enough. Castiel had known Xavier for many years and was used to his superior tone, but Gail couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. He was lucky that Jason had handcuffed her, or she would have leapt across the desk and slapped him in the face, worrying about the consequences later.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she said to Xavier. "I can't believe you! You're going to prosecute the best Angel you guys ever had on trumped-up charges so you can try to play God? I know all about his so-called sordid past! How about your sordid present? How about you using someone like Jason to do your dirty work?"

Xavier slammed his hand down on the desk. "Enough!" he yelled at her. "How dare you talk to me that way?"

Gail jumped a bit when he'd slammed his hand down, but she retorted, "No, how dare YOU talk about HIM that way?"

Castiel looked at her sideways and said, "Gail..."

She was staring at Xavier, her blood boiling, and he'd spoken so quietly she hadn't heard him. He tried again, more loudly: "Gail!"

She turned to look at him. "What?!" She'd been so worked up she was yelling at the wrong Angel. "Sorry, Cas." They smiled at each other. "I mean, yes?" she asked sweetly.

"Don't," he said.

Gail looked at him incredulously. What did he mean by that? She knew she was being disrespectful, but what did it matter?

Xavier was pleasantly surprised. Was Castiel going to put this female in her place?

"Don't let this dick upset you," Castiel continued, then he smiled. Dean would be proud.

Gail broke into a smile. Dean WOULD be proud.

Xavier was disappointed, but he was not particularly surprised. If these two behaved like this at the tribunal, they would just be helping him with his case.

Jason came back into the office then, and Xavier waved his hand. "Take them," he said. "I can't stand the sight of them."

"The feeling is mutual," Castiel said. Gail smiled again. Way to go, Cas, she thought. Way to go.

They rose from their chairs and Jason grabbed them by one arm each, as he had before. Gail noticed that the hand where Castiel had stabbed Jason had stopped bleeding, but he still had the wound. He still had the scars on his face, too.

"I guess nobody likes you enough to heal you," she said to Jason, not being able to resist.

He gave her a thin smile. "Evidence," he said shortly, then cut her leg with his blade. "That's three."

Ow. She'd better learn to shut up around Jason, Gail thought.

Cas ached to heal her, but of course, his hands were cuffed behind his back. She looked at him apologetically. I'll shut up now, her eyes said, and his crinkled. Don't ever change, they said. Then he raised an eyebrow. But you may want to consider doing that.

The two of them smiled at this non-verbal exchange, and Jason looked at them both, shaking his head. How could they smile? Didn't they realize what was about to happen to them?

He took them to the prison wing, and Castiel was the first to be placed in a cell. After pushing him in, Jason followed and unlocked the cuffs behind Castiel's back. Castiel immediately wheeled around and punched Jason in the face.

"That's one," he said.

Gail wanted to cheer, but she figured she'd better not. She was still cuffed, and Jason was the only one with a blade. But she was smiling again.

Jason hadn't gone down, but he had staggered, and he was rubbing his cheek with his hand. "I suppose that's the human way of dealing with things." He sneered at Castiel. "I prefer a blade, myself."

"You confiscated mine, so I improvised," Cas told him.

Now Gail really wanted to laugh. She didn't have the use of her hands to cover her mouth, and a sound escaped from her lips.

Jason looked at her, and the urge to laugh went away immediately. What was the matter with them? This was a guy you did not want to piss off.

Proving her point, Jason shut Castiel's cell door and slashed Gail on the other leg with his blade. She hissed in pain. Castiel rushed to the front of his cell, his first impulse to heal her, and then he realized where he was. The prison was encased in sigils. Even if he could reach her, he had no powers here.

Jason grabbed Gail's arm and smiled grimly at Castiel. "Don't be upset if you hear screaming. By my count, I still have hundreds more to go."

He propelled Gail out of the cellblock so quickly she didn't even have the chance to glance back. If she had, she would have seen Castiel hang his head. What had he done? He had lost his temper, and she was going to pay the price for his stupidity. Help her, Father, please, he prayed. Help us.

But no divine intervention was needed, not just yet, anyway. Jason had merely been screwing with them. He could hardly slice and dice either of them on the eve of their tribunal. In fact, he would be forced to heal Gail in the morning, before the Angels made their appearance in the hearing room. No bullying or police brutality here, just two rebellious Angels, who were sinners and criminals. All of Heaven would either be looking on, or would hear about the events at the hearing, and he wanted no sympathy for the couple.

Gail had been terrified, anticipating being cut into about a million tiny pieces by Jason's blade. He raised it one more time before unlocking her cuffs, relishing seeing her flinch, but then he merely released her from the cuffs and left her in the cell.

Chuck and Kevin had been busy in Heaven, recruiting mostly young Angels to their cause. Many younger Angels had been impressed with Bobby's innovative use of computers, and they had been promised that there would be more modern methods and ideologies to come. But now that Bobby had gone and Xavier was taking over, everything seemed to be going back to the Dark Ages, Xavier had taken almost all of the computers away, and he had instituted puritan policies of conduct. Kevin and Becky weren't even allowed to hold hands in the break room any more; Xavier thought that behaviour set a bad example. Hand-holding led to other things, Xavier reasoned, like...well, like two Angels behaving badly in Las Vegas. Celibate or not, no Angels were going to start acting like humans in Heaven, not under his rule.

One of the prison guards was one such young Angel, and he called Chuck as soon as the prisoners were brought in. Chuck had called Kevin, and Kevin had called Becky, as had been prearranged.

And now Chuck and Kevin were admitted into the cellblock by young Ethan. There had been no instructions as to whether the prisoners could have visitors, so they weren't specifically breaking any rules. The Prophets just wanted to let Castiel and Gail know that they had friends, allies in Heaven. They must be feeling very alone and overwhelmed by now.

Chuck stood in front of Castiel's cell. "Hi, Brother," Chuck said to him.

Castiel had been sitting on his bunk with his head in his hands. He hadn't heard any screaming, but he didn't know if he could relax just yet. Where was Gail being held? Had Jason harmed her further? And what was going to happen to them both now that they had returned?

Cas recognized the voice and his head snapped up. "Don't call me that," he told Chuck.

"OK, Cas, I'm sorry," Chuck said.

"Why are you here, Chuck? To gloat, maybe?" Cas said warily.

Chuck was dismayed. True, he hadn't gotten his chance to apologize to Cas, as he had to Gail, but he was hoping that Gail had been able to soften Castiel's attitude towards him. But they had had other, much bigger things on their plate, and this was not about him, Chuck reminded himself. Besides, he had been a dick to Cas for a number of years now. Chuck couldn't expect Cas to just forget all about their history and embrace him with open arms.

"No, not at all, Cas," Chuck said. "Quite the opposite. I'm here to let you know that you and Gail have supporters here in Heaven."

Castiel's eyebrows raised. He stood up from his bunk and walked closer to the front of the cell, regarding Chuck between the bars. Gail had tried to convince Castiel that Chuck had changed for the better, and there had been a brief issue between them because of it.

"I run the library now, and we have some books in the reference section that have been useful," Chuck continued. "Kevin and I have been reading up on past tribunals, doing research. They're brutal, Cas. Even when the Angel running it doesn't have a vendetta against the one undergoing it. There have been long prison terms and even a couple of death sentences. I don't blame you guys for running. How did that bastard Jason get you? Neither Kevin nor I gave you up, I swear."

Interesting, Castiel thought. All of it. If it was true. Chuck and Kevin, teaming up to help them? Maybe, but he didn't see Kevin anywhere, did he?

"Where is Kevin?" Castiel asked Chuck.

Chuck smiled. "He's gone to visit Gail. We wanted to make sure to return something we got from Xavier's old office that we knew she'd want back."

The photograph! Castiel smiled. His smile encouraged Chuck enough to add, "Kevin's going to stop by here after he sees her and let you know how she's doing."

Castiel thawed then. Maybe Chuck was sincere. It was good to know that they might have some support here, after all. Though with Xavier running the show and the board presiding, it probably wouldn't make much difference in the end. He'd been distressed to hear what Chuck had said about past tribunals. They must have taken place when God had been absent and Castiel had been off the grid on Earth. So there had been death sentences carried out? How the hell could they justify putting one of their own to death based on the perceived wrongs that Angel had done in his or her existence? If their sins had been that egregious, they wouldn't have been Angels in the first place. Mind you, look at his own record. Not exactly cause for optimism.

"So how DID Jason get you?" Chuck repeated.

"We gave ourselves up to him," Castiel replied glumly.

Chuck was astonished. "Why?"

Castiel sighed. "We felt it was the right thing to do." He wasn't sure he felt that way any more.

Cas was crazy, Chuck thought, shaking his head. "The right thing to do?" Chuck echoed. "I'm not even sure that means anything here any more. Not with Xavier and Jason ruling the roost."

Whether Chuck was truly on his side or not, Castiel had an opinion about that, and he didn't mind sharing it.

"They cannot be allowed to continue what they're doing," he said to Chuck. "Heaven will become like a police state, and Free Will? It'll be a thing of the past. Along with Angels like me," he said sadly. "And I fear humans will be next."

Nothing Cas was saying surprised Chuck. He had seen what things would be like under Xavier's rule, and so had Kevin. They had both written Prophecies about the horror that would come if Xavier became God. Angels murdered and excommunicated. Human genocide. It would be Nazi Germany all over again, with Xavier and Metatron taking lead roles. He and Kevin had made copies of their Prophecies, passing them out to the young Angels they'd been trying to recruit. Spread the word, they had said to these Angels.

Chuck told Castiel this now, and Cas was impressed. While he'd not wanted to see another Angel rebellion any time soon, Castiel was highly in favour of this one.

"There aren't that many of us yet," Chuck said, "but we're hoping to get more. I think a lot of them are waiting to see what happens at your tribunal, waiting to decide which side they're on."

Castiel's heart sank. If that was the case, he didn't expect the numbers to go up too much once everyone had heard about his illustrious record. Even Gail had left him briefly in Dallas once she'd heard the whole story. She was with him now and they were closer than they had ever been, but it looked like their togetherness might lead them straight to their deaths.

"Hi, I'm Kevin."

Gail stood up and walked to the front of her cell, looking at the young Prophet. So this was Kevin.

"Hi," she said. He looked affable enough, and Gail knew that he had been Sam and Dean's friend in life, and Cas's, too. It was nice to see a friendly face after dealing with the likes of Jason and Xavier.

Kevin smiled. "I have a present for you." He pulled the photograph of her and Cas out of his pocket and extended it to her through the bars of the cell.

Gail's jaw dropped. Her picture! She took it from him eagerly, looked at it, then looked back at Kevin, astonished.

"How did you get this?" she asked him, hugging the picture to her chest near her heart.

Kevin was touched by the gesture. "I asked Becky to sneak in and get it," he said, still smiling. "I knew how much it meant to you."

"How did you - " she started to say, then hit herself on the forehead. "Oh, right. Prophet."

Kevin laughed. "Not to weird you out or anything, but I saw you taking it back and forth from your place to the poker room. And we thought you should have it now. It belongs to you, not them."

Gail felt her eyes well up. "Thank you, Kevin."

"Chuck is visiting with Cas right now," Kevin told her.

Oh. She wondered how THAT was going. She'd never had the chance to bring Cas to the library to see Chuck, and they'd never really spoken about Chuck since that day she and Cas had had a bit of an issue over it. She hoped Chuck was able to convince Castiel that he was sincere. If he and Kevin were here together, visiting them both, Gail was truly convinced that Chuck was one of the good guys.

Kevin told Gail the same things that Chuck had told Castiel about marshalling up some support for their friends among the other Angels, and he also assured her that neither he nor Chuck had given Jason any information about Cas and Gail, even though they'd known where the couple were the whole time. Kevin also told Gail about his mother's murder at Jason's hands.

"Oh, Kevin, I'm so sorry," Gail said, putting her hand on his arm through the bars. Her heart hurt for her new young friend.

"We'll get that bastard somehow," Kevin said grimly. "He'll pay for what he did to her. We've got to figure out a way to get him and Xavier."

"I wish Cas and I could help," Gail said to him.

Kevin smiled. "Hopefully, Chuck and I can help you guys," he told her. "Then, when you're free, you can both help us."

Gail smiled back, but she thought that Kevin was being awfully optimistic. She and Castiel were guilty of at least a few of the charges she knew were being brought against them. She couldn't imagine a scenario where they might be acquitted.

"You've already helped me," she told Kevin, holding up the picture. "You don't know what this means to me. Well, actually, maybe you do, Mister Prophet," she joked. "I hope you weren't looking in on anything too personal."

They both laughed. "I'd better go," Kevin said. "Have you got anything you want me to say to Cas for you?"

"Just tell him I love him, and I'll see him tomorrow," Gail replied. There were other things she wanted to say, but that would do for now.

"Will do," Kevin said. "Chuck and Becky and I will be in the gallery tomorrow, watching. Don't forget, you have friends, OK?"

"OK, Kevin. Thanks again." After he left the cellblock, Gail wiped the tears away from her eyes and took her picture over to the bunk with her. She laid down and stared at it, imagining Cas's arms around her. This was the first night they'd spent apart since that first night in Las Vegas, and she missed the cuddling already. But she'd see him tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Gail took a deep breath. She and Cas had had a lot of very different experiences lately, and being on trial was certainly going to be one of them. Xavier may be calling it a "tribunal", but who was he trying to fool? Last Gail looked, she wasn't up for God's job, and he and Jason had made mention of "charges" and "Counts". Gail had also watched a lot of courtroom dramas when she had been a human, and it seemed that she and Castiel were about to star in their own. Hopefully, there would be a surprise witness or two appearing on their behalf, she thought wryly. If not, they were done.

Kevin came back to join Chuck in front of Castiel's cell. "She's fine," he told Cas.

Castiel let out the breath he'd been holding. Thank God. Jason had just been tormenting him. Point to Jason; it had certainly worked.

"And she was very happy to get her picture back," Kevin grinned. "Good one, Chuck."

Castiel was momentarily stunned. That had been Chuck's idea? Cas had just assumed it had been Kevin's. If there was ever a moment he decided to trust and forgive Chuck, that was it.

"Oh, and she said she loves you, and she'll see you tomorrow," Kevin said. It felt a little weird to be saying that kind of thing to Cas. How things had changed. But in some other ways, they hadn't changed at all. It looked like they were going to team up to fight evil again; it's just that the evil was in their own backyard this time. It was a shame that Sam and Dean couldn't come up here to help them kick some ass, he thought ruefully.

Cas smiled at the message from Gail. He loved her, too. He was glad she'd gotten her picture back. He would be with her in spirit tonight, and in image, anyway. How he wished Angel Radio worked here; if it did, they'd be able to talk all night long. But he'd better use the time to figure out what they were going to do now.

"We'd better go," Chuck said. "I'm not a hundred percent sure we're even supposed to be here. Not that it would matter." He tipped Kevin a wink, and the two Prophets turned to leave.

"Wait," Castiel said. They turned back around. "Thank you, Kevin. And Chuck...I forgive you. Thank you both for all you've done."

Chuck smiled. Being a hero was tough sometimes, but when a moment like that happened, he realized it was all worthwhile.

"And, Chuck..." Castiel said, "please don't call me Brother. That's Xavier's word. Just call me Cas. Or, friend."

Chuck walked back to the library, but he felt as if his feet never touched the ground the entire way.

Morning came, and the Angels filed into the gallery. Many had lined up early, as seating was limited. The fact that Castiel and Gail had run away and had been brought back to Heaven in handcuffs had spread like wildfire overnight, with a big assist from Chuck, Kevin, and Becky. The Prophets wanted to drum up sympathy for their Angel friends, and to alert their fellow Angels that this proceeding was not at all what Xavier had been representing it to be.

Kevin had not let Becky in on his and Chuck's true intentions. He felt a little badly about this, but he thought his reticence was necessary. She was friendly with Aurielle, and he did not want any secrets to be leaked to the enemy camp. He'd asked her to get the picture for Gail after they'd seen Aurielle leave her desk, and Becky had done it because she also considered Gail and Castiel to be her friends. Becky was caught up in the romance of the two sweethearts. When Kevin told her that the picture was of the couple in Las Vegas, since Becky had met them there and had seen how much in love they were, she'd been glad to do it. She didn't see why they would take a picture away from Gail anyway; it's not like a picture was a weapon, or anything. Becky didn't understand why Castiel and Gail were in jail in the first place, and Kevin had not wanted to delve into the implications of the tribunal with her, mindful of her relationship with Aurielle.

Once all of the spectators, the board, and Xavier and Aurielle were seated, the doors to the hearing room opened and Castiel and Gail walked in. Jason walked behind them, but he did not push them and they were not cuffed. Prior to their entering the hearing room, Jason had removed the handcuffs from each, and had moved closer to Gail to inspect her for visible signs of the wounds he had inflicted on her the day before. But Castiel had stepped in-between them, facing Jason, as Gail involuntarily stepped back.

"You don't want to do that," Castiel said in his quiet voice.

Jason sighed. He hadn't seen anything visible on her anyway, and he could hardly start a fight with Castiel right before bringing them into the hearing room.

Castiel knew that, of course. Having had all night to think about the situation, he had played Devil's Advocate, ironically enough, and assessed the tribunal from Xavier and Jason's viewpoint. They wouldn't want to arouse any sympathy for Gail and himself amongst the Angels. Xavier would be attempting to present Castiel as a dangerous psychopath, and Gail as the wanton woman who was aiding and abetting him in the sabotage of Heaven, the Bonnie to his Clyde. On their walk from jail to the hearing room, Castiel had been goading Jason, testing out his theory, but Jason hadn't raised his blade to either one of them, though he had been sorely tempted.

Truthfully, Castiel had been almost disappointed that Jason had let him be. He'd been spoiling for a fight ever since yesterday, when Jason had slashed Gail with his blade multiple times. Why should she have to suffer, when the animosity was between the men? Of course, she had angered both Jason and Xavier with her own attitude. But Castiel had been proud of Gail, both for standing up to them the way she had, and for the stoicism with which she had borne the wounds that Jason had inflicted on her. However, he meant to see to it that she would not suffer any more. If Jason tried to go after her again, he would have to go through Castiel, if he dared. And the next time, Castiel would kill him.

But Jason had backed off, and Castiel turned back to Gail and said, "Ready?"

"No," she deadpanned, making a face, and they smiled at each other. He took her hand and they walked into the hearing room.

Gail stared around the room in amazement. This was pretty much, no, exactly what the courtrooms in all those shows on TV were like. There were two tables in the front of the room, and as they approached, she could see Xavier and Aurielle sitting at the table on the right, facing the front of the room. The table on the left had two vacant chairs. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was the defendants' table, and she and Cas were expected to sit there. There was a chair across from the table on Xavier's side which was raised on a platform which could only be the witness stand, and a dais above that, at which five older male Angels sat. That must be the board, Gail thought. What an Old Boys' Club. She knew you couldn't always judge a book by its cover, especially in the case of otherworldly beings, but they looked to her exactly as Cas had described them: uptight, priggish, and judgmental. Which did not exactly bode well for her. She'd wager that none of them would be able to find a joke with both hands and a flashlight. In her nervousness, this thought got her awfully close to giggling, so Gail looked quickly away, not wanting to make a bad impression on first sight.

She had turned her head to the right, and the sight she saw was enough to dry up the laughter. Xavier, looking smug and triumphant, with Aurielle sitting beside him. Aurielle was staring at Castiel with a rapt expression, and her eyes had been following him as he and Gail moved down the aisle and took their seats at the table across. Gail now saw Castiel glance at Aurielle, then quickly glance away, and the expression on his face was so befuddled that Gail almost laughed again. What was the matter with her? If she didn't get it together in a minute, they were going to be finished before they even started.

Castiel saw Gail's mouth twitching and he realized the struggle she was having. He knew her very well by now, so he knew that she was extremely nervous. Humour was her defense mechanism, and she had to be feeling very vulnerable right now. Truth be told, he was starting to feel nervous himself. But he'd had years of practice concealing how he truly felt, especially here in Heaven. He squeezed Gail's hand briefly and then let it go, pulling out the chair that was furthest from Xavier's table for her to sit in. He would sit closest to Xavier, Aurielle, and Jason, symbolically protecting her. It was all he could do for her at the moment.

Once Castiel and Gail were seated, Xavier stood and cleared his throat. "I hereby call this tribunal to order," he announced to the board members.

"Proceed, Brother Xavier," Ignatius said.

"In the matter of Count 1 against the Angel Castiel, I have a sworn Affidavit to introduce into evidence. This Affidavit outlines no less than ten specific incidences in which Castiel disobeyed direct orders from Heaven, and by extension, the wishes of God Himself, instead following the Winchester humans. The Signator of the Affidavit is classified."

Castiel furrowed his brow. What the hell did that mean?

Xavier stepped forward and handed the Affidavit to Ignatius, who took it from him and said, "So entered."

Then Xavier walked back to the table and said, "In the matter of Count 2 - "

But Castiel was standing now, and he interrupted Xavier. "Just a minute. What exactly does that Affidavit say? And why is the Signator 'classified'?"

Xavier turned to look at Castiel, irritated at the interruption. "The Signator is classified because he does not wish to suffer retribution."

"Retribution? From who?" Castiel asked.

Xavier was actually glad he had asked that question. "I should think that would be obvious. From you, Castiel."

Castiel's mind raced. So, a male had sworn an Affidavit that apparently outlined in detail his actions on Earth with the Winchesters. These events had to have been from the time God had been absent from Heaven; pretty much everything he had been doing with Sam and Dean since God had returned had been approved by his Father. But who could this mysterious Signator be? Who would have been privy to the goings-on on Earth at that time? Certainly not Sam or Dean. Chuck and Kevin had been in on some of the events, but they were his allies. Weren't they? And Metatron was involved for some of the time, but he was in Hell now. Castiel honestly couldn't think of anyone else it might be. It would be helpful if he was able to actually read the document.

As if reading Cas's mind, Chuck piped up from the gallery: "Isn't he at least entitled to see the Affidavit?"

Castiel and Gail's heads turned towards the gallery, as did Xavier's. Xavier glared at Chuck, as Cas and Gail smiled, silently thanking him.

Ignatius looked startled. He'd presided over tribunals before, and no one had ever asked that question. The subjects of the tribunals had always meekly accepted whatever Xavier had introduced into evidence without a peep, and no one had ever spoken out from the spectators' section before. But he supposed the Prophet had a point. To be fair, if accusations were being made against Brother Castiel, didn't he have the right to at least know what they were?

"The Prophet's point is taken," Ignatius said formally. "Have a copy made, Brother Xavier." He extended the Affidavit, and Xavier had little choice but to come forward and take it. Xavier came back to his table and handed it to Aurielle. "Here," he snapped. "Copy it during the recess."

Castiel was in the act of sitting back down when another voice piped up from the gallery. "And doesn't he have the right to face his accuser?" Kevin said loudly.

Ignatius rapped his gavel on the desk. He couldn't let this turn into a free-for-all. "Order," he said sternly. "Spectators are here to observe only. No more outbursts!"

Good one, Kevin, Castiel thought, standing back up. Gail turned around and smiled up at Kevin, nodding at him.

"What he said," Castiel said, and Gail had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop the giggle from escaping.

Xavier was livid. Ignatius had better regain control of the proceeding. He'd thought that a full gallery of Angels was a good thing; they could hear the horrifying details of Castiel's crimes and see him for what he really was. But Xavier would not stand for these interruptions.

"I already said that the Signator to the Affidavit will not come forward," Xavier said impatiently. "We need to move on."

"Moving on," Ignatius said, banging his gavel again.

How was that fair? Gail thought. Some guy alleges all these events and they just take his word for it? Whoever it was, why didn't he come here and accuse Castiel to his face, give Cas a chance to explain whatever it was that he was supposed to have done? She knew Castiel's history now; he had disclosed everything to her in Dallas. And yes, some of his actions had been questionable, to say the least. But this secrecy bothered her. Who would accuse Castiel of putting the Winchesters before God?

"The charges under Count 2 are waived," Xavier said, somewhat surprisingly.

"So noted," Ignatius said, and the board members scribbled down a notation.

Well, wasn't that magnanimous of him, Castiel thought sarcastically. But he winced when Xavier said, "As to Count 3, we have a witness to call. He is prepared to detail for us an incident in which Castiel declared himself to be God."

There was an audible gasp from most of the Angels in the gallery. That outburst, Xavier didn't mind. That was the reaction he had been hoping to provoke. And he was really looking forward to seeing the look on Castiel's face once the witness was announced.

"Call forth your witness, Xavier," Ignatius said.

Xavier turned to look directly at Castiel and smiled. "I call the Archangel Raphael," Xavier said.

Castiel's mouth dropped open in shock. He'd known immediately the incident that Xavier had been referring to, of course. It had been one of his least shining moments, the time he had ingested all those souls to gain enough power to win the Angel war, and to stop Crowley from getting them. He had been so drunk with the power he'd felt with all those souls inside him that he had indeed declared himself the new God, and he had demanded that those present bow down and worship him. Crowley had been there, but he had winked out of the room before this happened. The only other people who had been in the room had been Dean, Bobby, and Sam, and the Archangel Raphael, who Castiel had disintegrated with a mere snap of his fingers. So Raphael was going to testify? How was that even possible?

Oh, this was bad, Gail thought. She remembered Castiel's having told her the story back in Dallas. She had been horrified and angry at the time, but she had forgiven him after her talk with Dean, and they had moved past it. But this was not going to go over well with the board and the rest of the Angels. She too wondered how Raphael could possibly be here to testify, though. As far as she knew, Castiel had blown him to bits. What was Xavier trying to pull?

After the Angels had been apprehended, Xavier had picked up the Hotline and given Crowley the happy news. Then Xavier met with Crowley and Metatron in a neutral spot on Earth, as had been prearranged.

Crowley had handed Xavier the Affidavit, which he had written himself. He'd had lots of examples to give of times that Castiel had rebelled against Heaven and sided with the Winchesters, and the facts that were not exactly known were perhaps a tad embellished. But there was enough truth there to sway the board, he was sure of it. Crowley ought to know; he'd been there for most of it.

"My name will not be mentioned, as agreed," Crowley told Xavier, who was already nodding. There was no way the rest of Heaven was going to find out that Xavier had been working hand-in-hand with the King of Hell, that was for sure. But Crowley's assistance had proved invaluable in obtaining much of the information Xavier was using to put Castiel away. Crowley'd had his fingers in a lot of pies, and he'd been in on many of the events that had happened on Earth.

Crowley had also been there on that vital day, the day that Castiel had declared himself to be the new God. The trouble was, he had disappeared from the room before the offense had occurred, so afraid had he been of Castiel in that omnipotent state. Besides, the King of Hell could hardly appear on the stand in Heaven to testify in a tribunal that was ostensibly being held to determine if Castiel was worthy to be God. If he didn't immediately burst into flames once he sat on the witness stand, Crowley would be jeered out of the room. No, they needed a witness who would be palatable to Angels, a sympathetic witness who could convey the true horror and blasphemy of Castiel's actions that day.

That was why Crowley had brought Metatron to the meeting. After receiving and pocketing the Affidavit from Crowley, Xavier turned his gaze on Metatron. Crowley and Metatron. Xavier honestly wasn't sure which of them was worse. Here was the Angel who had caused The Fall standing right in front of him, and Metatron was grinning like a fool. He was in Hell now, and as far ar Xavier was concerned, he belonged there.

But Crowley and Metatron had something very valuable to offer Xavier, something only they could give him. As two of God's Originals, with their combined powers they could bring Raphael back to life, at least for a short period of time. But it would be long enough for him to take the stand and testify about how Castiel had killed his Brother for no other reason than hubris. And there was a bonus. Because Raphael had been an Archangel with prodigious powers of his own, enough of his essence had remained in the room to have witnessed the crucial moment.

Their offer would come at a price, of course, and it was steep. Xavier would have to kill several Angels and steal their Grace, giving all that Grace to Metatron to enable him to power up enough to help Crowley revive Raphael. And, after the tribunal was over and Castiel was dead, Metatron wanted back into Heaven, to sit on the board at Xavier's right hand.

Xavier had shaken his head. No. He couldn't do it; it was just too much to ask. How could he ever justify bringing back the most hated Angel in Heaven, not only to be an Angel again, but to be one of the Upper Echelon? Yes, he was an Original, but he was supremely evil. None of the rest of the board would stand for it.

"Screw the board," Metatron scoffed, when Xavier told him so. "You'll be God. Haven't you heard? One of the main perks of being God is that you can do whatever you want. Screw 'em if they can't take a joke."

Metatron certainly had a...colourful way of putting things, Xavier thought. Perhaps he too had been around humans for too long. But he did have a point. As God, Xavier could make his own decisions. He'd have to stop thinking like a board member and start thinking like a Deity.

He considered their offer. The Archangels were the closest God had ever had to true descendants. There had been only four of them, and they were all either dead or scattered to the winds. They ranked above all other Angels, above even the Upper Echelon. Raphael's testimony would carry a lot of weight in terms of respect and believability. Xavier knew that the evidence he had on some of the other Counts was weak and circumstantial, and he hadn't even been sure that Crowley's anonymous Affidavit would be accepted or believed. Xavier was already going to be forced to waive Count 2 for lack of evidence. But Raphael's testimony on Count 3 would absolutely nail Castiel on that charge, and would go a long way towards turning public sentiment against him.

So Xavier had reluctantly agreed to the terms, both of them. And this morning, Raphael had walked into Xavier's office, eager to testify.

Raphael walked into the hearing room, and the crowd buzzed with excitement. Most of the Angels had never seen an Archangel before; they had only heard legends about them. He looked the part, too, a tall and regal-looking black man, dressed in robes.

As he passed by Castiel, Raphael paused and regarded him calmly. Castiel looked back at him, but his insides were churning. The two Angels had once been Brothers, but the animosity between them had developed when Castiel had aligned himself with the Winchesters to stop the Apocalypse from happening. Raphael had been in favour of the Apocalypse; he'd wanted to eliminate what he considered to be the scourge of humans on Earth and take Earth for his own, creating a paradise for Angels. Raphael had claimed this to be God's will, and said he was speaking for God.

As far as Castiel was concerned, Raphael was just as guilty on Count 3 as he himself was. God hadn't been around at the time to speak for Himself, but Castiel knew his Father would never have sanctioned the Apocalypse. The total annihilation of the human race just so Raphael could build a playground? Yeah, Castiel didn't think so. So he'd had no choice but to stand against Raphael, and then Raphael had killed him. But Castiel had miraculously been able to return, and then he had returned the favour. But the method he had used and the context in which he'd done it had been dishonourable and inexcusable.

Gail could barely look at Raphael. As an Archangel, he had an aura about him, a bearing that signalled that he was a force to be reckoned with. And he was looking at Castiel with such hatred. This did not bode well.

Raphael took the stand, and Xavier said, "I think the board will agree we can dispense with the usual swearing-in procedure."

Incredibly, the men on the board laughed, and Raphael smiled. "In the interests of full disclosure, this chair would not work on me as it would a lesser Angel," he said in a superior tone.

What was he talking about? Gail thought.

In answer to her unspoken question, Xavier turned and addressed the gallery. "For those who may be unaware, the witness chair is a special one which is used in these kinds of proceedings. It has the power to compel any Angel who sits in it to speak only the truth. Not that any Angel should ever lie, of course, but due to the gravity of the proceeding, this was deemed necessary. Our esteemed Brother is above such things, of course. I doubt that anyone would ever question the veracity of what he is about to tell us."

Great, Gail thought. So they have a chair which forces Angels to tell the truth, and the first witness they call is a guy it doesn't even work on? Couldn't he just say whatever he wanted to, then? Of course, the truth would be bad enough. And what would she be compelled to say if and when Xavier put her on the stand? Crap.

She looked at Castiel, who had slowly sunk into his chair as Raphael had taken a seat in his. He looked stunned beyond belief. Not that she could blame him. How was Raphael even here? Maybe Castiel had not killed him after all, had only thought he had. Lord knew that happened a lot in their world. Gail could look around the room and see several Angels that had been thought dead but were still here, herself and Castiel included.

Of course, Castiel was amazed that Raphael was here, too, but the similarity between his and Gail's thinking ended there. She had not been there that day. He knew beyond a doubt that he had obliterated Raphael; there was no mistake. And Castiel knew of only one way that an Archangel could be reanimated, and that was impossible. Or he certainly hoped so, anyway. The only surviving Originals he was aware of were himself, Metatron, Crowley, and Lucifer. If neither God nor any other Archangels had been behind this, that meant that two out of the three current denizens of Hell, who happened to be Originals, had banded together to revive one of the most powerful Angels Heaven had ever seen just to screw Castiel over. But why would they do it? Was he hated that much? What kind of unholy arrangement had Xavier entered into?

"If you please, Brother Raphael, would you tell us in your own words the events of that day?" Xavier said deferentially.

Raphael told the truth for the most part, omitting only that he had been in league with Crowley against Castiel at that time. A pretty significant omission, Castiel thought bitterly. But obviously Raphael couldn't mention that part. He was there to testify about Castiel's wrongdoings, not his own. And the tale Raphael told was tragic and compelling. The Angels in the gallery were hanging on his every word. No deal with Crowley was mentioned, and no Apocalypse; just how Castiel had murdered him in cold blood for no reason, and how Castiel had declared himself to be the new God.

When he had finished his story, Raphael just sat there staring at Castiel, and the silence in the hearing room was pervasive. All of the Angels were in shock, and Xavier smiled thinly, although he felt like grinning. Count 3 had just been proven beyond all doubt. Xavier looked up at Ignatius. "Unless the board has any questions, this witness may be excused," Xavier said. "Respectfully," he added, nodding to Raphael, who gave him a half-nod in return.

Gail leaned over to Castiel and spoke softly. "You need to question him."

He looked at her as if she were crazy. "Why would I want to do that?" he said in a low voice.

"Didn't he leave out some very important stuff?" she said, agitated. Gail looked up at Raphael, who seemed to be staring at her now. Suddenly, her chair moved back and she was flung away from Castiel. Raphael smiled, still looking at Gail.

Castiel turned to look at Raphael. Cas did feel badly about what he'd done that day, but Gail had had a point, and apparently Raphael had heard what she'd said and had known it, too. Castiel stood up to protest and was immediately slammed back into his chair by invisible hands. Now Raphael was grinning.

"You need to learn your place, Castiel," the Archangel said. "You will not disrespect me."

Xavier was dismayed. Raphael's testimony had been very powerful, just what was needed, but now he was sounding arrogant and manhandling the two defendants. He'd better wrap this up. He started to speak, but Castiel interrupted him.

"I need to ask the witness some questions," Castiel said. He was struggling to rise from his chair but was unable to.

"That will not be permitted," Xavier said quickly.

Gail was angry. "Why not?" she exclaimed. "There's a lot more to the story than he's telling!"

Raphael was angry now. This impudent girl was a new Angel, and she had the temerity to speak about an Archangel that way? He waved his hand and she went flying from her chair across the room.

That was it. Castiel didn't care who Raphael was or how bad it was going to make Cas look. He raised his hand towards Raphael to retaliate, but nothing happened.

"Sigils do not work on Archangels," Raphael said smugly.

Sigils? Castiel thought. Then he realized. Xavier must have arranged for the hearing room to be encased in them. That way, if Castiel lost his temper, he would be rendered powerless. And right now, Raphael was the only one in the room unaffected by them.

Kevin had been shocked by Raphael's testimony. He hadn't known Cas back when those events had happened, but if the story was true, Cas did not come out looking very good. It would be hard to recruit more Angels to their cause now, once word spread that Cas had been so arrogant as to proclaim himself God, and had murdered one of the highest-ranking Angels there was. Kevin was prepared to believe that there was more to the story than was being presented here, wanting to give Cas the benefit of the doubt, but then he knew Cas personally. Most of the Angels did not. To them, Castiel was an enigma, and this story was not going to help them get to know him as the kind of Angel Kevin knew him to be now.

Chuck had also grimaced when Raphael had described Cas's actions. Not good. But he'd noticed Raphael's arrogance in his body language and in the way he spoke, and Chuck also had the feeling that there was more to the story than Raphael had been letting on. Even when Chuck had hated Cas, he'd known that Cas was not that kind of Angel. Chuck had been a bit heartened, however, to witness the events that had happened after Raphael's testimony. Maybe Cas could win back a bit of sympathy, at least from some of the female Angels, over his failed attempt to defend Gail when Raphael had knocked her out of her chair.

But it wasn't only female Angels who felt sorry for Castiel at that point. Ethan didn't have any prior knowledge of or association with Castiel. He hadn't been a guard at the Angel prison when Metatron had been an inmate so he had missed that whole drama, but he'd heard the stories from his fellow guards about Castiel's heroism in saving Aurielle that day. But her presence at Xavier's table puzzled Ethan. If Castiel had saved her from being killed by the evil Metatron that day, why was she on the team that stood against him?

Becky knew that Archangels were supposed to be revered, but she thought Raphael was just a bully. He was really mean to separate Gail and Castiel that way, and when he'd thrown Becky's friend off her chair and wouldn't let Castiel even get out of his chair to help Gail up, Becky had been outraged.

Gail picked herself up off the floor and made a show of brushing herself off and rearranging her clothing. She looked up at the gallery and gave a sort of a shrug, and a couple of the Angels laughed nervously. Gail understood the concept of public opinion, and she saw an opportunity to win back some sympathy for Cas. "Ow," she said, grimacing, and picked up her chair, moving it right next to Castiel's and re-seating herself there.

Castiel took her hand. "I'm sorry," he said. "I would have helped you if I could."

"I know, Cas," she said, and touched his face.

Several of the female Angels in the gallery sighed audibly and glared at Raphael.

Xavier was livid. He didn't dare show disrespect to Raphael, but the Archangel had just diluted his own testimony by behaving that way. It was a good thing the board were the ones who would decide Castiel and Gail's fates, because right now the momentum had shifted in the couple's favour as far as many of the spectators were concerned.

Aurielle had been one of the only Angels in the room who had smiled when Raphael had flung Gail across the room. She had deserved it, Aurielle thought. Gail had a lot of nerve, whispering to Castiel like that with an Archangel sitting right in front of them. At least Aurielle had the proper respect for the Angel hierarchy. She had been taken aback at first by Raphael's testimony, though. It had been damning, and she struggled to come up with an excuse for Castiel's behaviour. She'd actually hoped that he would be allowed to ask Raphael some questions, perhaps provide her with a mitigating circumstance or two. But Xavier had refused, and then Raphael had attacked Gail. In that way that people, and apparently Angels, have of dismissing any unpleasant facts learned about their beloved, Aurielle felt sympathy not for Gail, but for Castiel. First, he had almost been denied an opportunity to read the Affidavit Xavier had introduced into evidence; now, he was being denied the chance to establish his side of the story. Aurielle may have been sitting at Xavier's table out of necessity, but she knew whose side she was really on. She couldn't wait until the end of the day, when she would be able to bring Castiel's copy of the Affidavit to him personally. That was the plan, anyway, and Lord help anyone who tried to stop her.

Raphael did not regret what he had done. He seemed oblivious to the reactions from the gallery, or perhaps he felt that he was above such concerns. He was in the right, and Castiel was in the wrong. Castiel had never had the proper respect, even before he had started to consort with humans. Raphael only regretted that he would not be able to stick around long enough to see Castiel put to death. When Crowley and Metatron had combined their powers to conjure him up from the netherworld, Raphael had initially been leery, to say the least. But when the nefarious duo explained to Raphael what was happening, he had been only too glad to help. Castiel needed to pay for everything he'd done, not the least of which had been obliterating Raphael himself.

The Archangel stood from the witness chair and walked to where Castiel was seated, looking down at him with contempt. He waved his hand, releasing Castiel, who immediately stood and faced Raphael. Don't, Gail thought. Please don't, Cas.

"Do whatever you will," Raphael said to Castiel, goading him.

But Castiel merely said, "I think you've just done it for me."

Raphael glared at him a moment longer, then left the hearing room.

Gail let out the breath she'd been holding, and Castiel took a deep breath of his own. He'd been sorely tempted to show Raphael how such matters were dealt with in the human world, as he had done with Jason, but he'd been able to rein himself in, realizing that violence would not help his cause. He too had been aware of the Angels' reaction to Raphael's arrogance and bullying tactics, and the Archangel had actually done him a favour. The testimony had been bad, and Castiel was still frustrated that he had not been allowed to expose Raphael's culpability in the matter, but hopefully the damage had been mitigated somewhat by what had happened after the testimony.

Ignatius rapped his gavel. "I think now might be a good time for the first recess," he announced. He thought a cooling-off period might be in order for everyone in the room after the shocking testimony they had just heard and the intensity of what had occurred afterwards.

Xavier rose immediately, silently thanking his Brother. He needed to regroup, get the momentum back. As the board filed out to the chambers in back of the dais, Xavier hurried after them. Even though he was sure they would have been more swayed by the content of Raphael's testimony than by his behaviour, Xavier realized he might have to do a bit of damage control.

Aurielle left the room too, to make a copy of the Affidavit as instructed. She threw a glance at Castiel before exiting the room, but he and Gail had their heads together again. Oh well, no matter. She'd have him all to herself later on.

Most of the Angels in the gallery rose too, filing out into the hallway to talk about what they'd just seen. Kevin and Chuck were among them. They wanted to take advantage of the break in the proceedings to talk to their fellow Angels, see how things were being perceived so far. Truthfully, there wasn't a lot they could say about the shocking testimony itself, but the Prophets wanted to be sure to emphasize the unfairness of the proceeding as they saw it so far. What did the Affidavit that had been submitted say, and why was the identity of the Signator such a mystery? They'd both been with Cas at different points on Earth, and neither of them could think of anyone who would be able to give that many details about Cas's activities there except for Bobby and Sam and Dean themselves, and it certainly wouldn't have been any of them. Chuck and Kevin also meant to point out that Castiel had not been permitted to even have a copy of the document, nor had he been allowed to question Raphael about anything he'd alleged while on the stand. How fair was that?

Becky and a few of the other female Angels remained in the gallery, watching Castiel and Gail sitting close, holding hands and talking. Becky saw Jason glaring at the couple. He had elected to remain at the table to keep an eye on Castiel. Perhaps he'd thought better of tangling with an Archangel, but Jason knew that Castiel would not be able to contain his temper for long.

But the Angels were just sitting there talking quietly, and incredibly, Castiel was smiling.

"Are you all right?" Cas had asked Gail once Xavier had left the room.

She scoffed. "Please. It takes a lot more than that to keep me down. It's actually kind of refreshing not to be stabbed for a change."

Castiel couldn't help but smile.

"Interesting proceeding so far," Gail said dryly. "A little one-sided, though."

Castiel's smile faded. "I have no idea who could have provided Xavier with that Affidavit. It'll make for some interesting reading material," he mused. "And as for Count 3, well..." he trailed off. Dramatic scene notwithstanding, they pretty much had him on that one.

"So these Counts, they're numbered according to the Ten Commandments, I take it?" Gail asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "Count 1, the one Xavier introduced the Affidavit for, is: 'Thou shalt have no other Gods before me'. I guess the implication is that by defying Heaven's orders to kill Dean, I put humans before God," he said sardonically.

Gail was appalled, but she quipped, "Oh please, don't ever tell Dean that. He's got a big enough head as it is."

They laughed, delighting the Angels watching in the gallery but infuriating Jason. Xavier had better get this thing back on the right track, he thought, or Jason might have to get his Angel blade out tonight and wipe the smiles off their faces.

"Count 2 would be based on the one about not making any graven images," Castiel told Gail.

"I confess I never really understood that one," she said to him.

"Simply put, it refers to anything or anyone that you worship, giving it more importance than God," Cas explained. "Lucky Xavier didn't find that golden calf in our apartment," he deadpanned, prompting Gail to laugh again. "Xavier obviously had to waive that charge," Castiel continued, "but Count 3..."

Gail sighed. "Count 3. Isn't that the one about not taking God's name in vain?"

"Yeah." Castiel sighed also. "I guess Xavier's interpretation of that one is pretty accurate. I didn't take it in vain, I just...took it. Whatever I might think of Raphael, I definitely didn't enjoy hearing about that again. Xavier has me dead to rights on that one. That was me he was talking about, and I did and said those things. I would have been disgusted hearing that about anyone else. Even if I'd been able to question Raphael and expose his wrongdoings, that wouldn't excuse what I did." He hung his head, and Gail wanted to make him feel better, but there was nothing she could say on the subject because he was right.

Instead, she said, "I still don't know how Raphael could even be here to testify, though."

Castiel raised his head. He was about to share his theory with her about that when Xavier and the board began to file back into the room. "We'll reconvene in five minutes," Xavier said to Jason. Then he turned to Castiel and Gail. "You may think you're doing all right," he said to them, lowering his voice, "but there is much more to come."

A few minutes later, when the session was called to order, Xavier stood up and said, "Regarding Count 4, I am willing to waive," then he turned back and looked at Castiel and Gail. "I happen to know the Angels had an opportunity for rest and relaxation very recently. We'll be chatting about that little excursion in detail soon." He smiled at Gail, and it felt like her heart dropped into her stomach. She was sure she knew what he was referring to. She looked at the witness stand. He was going to put her in a chair that compelled whoever was in it to tell the truth, and ask her questions about Las Vegas. She was definitely not looking forward to that.

Xavier turned back to face the board. "Count 5 is waived also."

OK, so they were halfway through now, Gail thought, and Xavier had only really followed through on two charges against Castiel so far. What was next?

"The next Count is quite serious, and the evidence is extensive because there are many, many charges. There is only one charge against the female," Xavier said. "Therefore, although it is unorthodox, I suggest we take the mid-day break now, as the Count 6 presentation may be quite lengthy."

"Very well," Ignatius said. "Reconvene in an hour."

Everyone started to leave the room then, and Gail was racking her brains to remember what the Sixth Commandment was. She supposed she must be a pretty bad Angel, because she couldn't come up with it. She'd only really been focused on and worried about Count 7.

Castiel saw the puzzled look on her face and thought he'd better help her out. "'Thou shalt not kill'," he said grimly.

"Crap," she said softly.

Crap indeed, Castiel thought. It would certainly be a busy afternoon. He wondered what sort of Affidavits or witnesses Xavier would produce to prove to the board and the assembled Angels that he was a killer, a monster. He felt sick with apprehension.

Raphael took a quick tour of Heaven before his time ran out. It didn't look all that much different than it had from the time that he had been there. Certainly a bit more peaceful than the last time. But his time had come and gone. He sent a message to Metatron with his mind: I have done all that I could; Castiel will be finished here, and when the tribunal is done, his name will go down in history next to Lucifer's. And yours, Raphael thought, but did not say. Then his image started to fade as he was returned to the netherworld. Metatron passed the message along to Crowley, smiling. The Scribe was back to full power now, thanks to Xavier's murder of multiple Angels on his behalf, and Metatron was on a high as he left Crowley's office. Soon he would be back where he belonged, and his first act, after ensuring that Castiel and Gail were dead of course, would be to retrieve the Demon tablet from his old office. The old adage about not biting the hand that feeds you didn't concern Metatron one bit.

Metatron was on such a high that he didn't notice: Crowley had not smiled once during their conversation. Not even once.

Chuck, Kevin and Becky re-entered the hearing room after the break and took their seats in the gallery. The men were convinced that they had made some inroads in their campaign. Several of the younger Angels they had spoken to, and even a couple of the older ones, seemed to share their concerns that the hearing was being conducted unfairly. How could you just make all kinds of accusations against someone and then not allow them to mount any kind of defense?

Ignatius had also expressed these kinds of concerns when Xavier had joined him and the rest of the board in their chambers.

"He must at least be allowed to speak at some point," Ignatius had said. "To present his side of the issues."

"Although I cannot see how he could possibly explain his actions," Daniel said. "Our exalted Brother was extremely explicit."

"Yes, he was," Gregory said. "But I for one would have liked to have heard what Castiel could have said in his own defense."

Great, Xavier thought. Five Counts in the books and a couple of his fellow board members were on the fence. But his strongest material was coming up. After this afternoon's session and the testimony that Xavier was going to elicit, the board would be eager to convict. He was sure of it.

Castiel was beyond nervous. He and Gail had been allowed to spend the break sitting together in the hearing room under Jason's watchful eye, but Castiel had been given too much time to think, and his mind had wandered, recalling all of the times he had killed in the past. He wasn't quite sure how Xavier was going to present his case though, since most of the witnesses to his murders were dead themselves. Of course, Raphael had been dead, too, and that hadn't stopped him from testifying, had it?

Gail could see that Castiel was a million miles away and for a change, she didn't attempt to use humour to make him feel better. She knew it wouldn't work. Truth be told, she wasn't finding too much funny right now. She knew he had killed many Angels, and the Sixth Commandment left little room for interpretation. And Jason had said that there was one charge for her too, so she supposed that self-defense wasn't permitted to be used as an excuse. Although if she were to be honest, the Angel she'd killed in Sam and Dean's motel room wasn't menacing her when she'd killed him, only Dean. And she had the feeling that Xavier and the board didn't give a damn about the murder of innocent humans. They probably were in favour of it.

But even if self-defense was accepted as a viable excuse, both she and Castiel knew that many of the murders he had committed had not been in self-defense, or the circumstances surrounding them had been complicated. It was probably a moot point, anyway. Castiel hadn't been allowed to say one word in his own defense, and the board didn't seem to care save for that one little exception in letting him have a copy of that Affidavit.

Gail jumped a bit when the chambers door opened and the board filed in. Castiel gave her hand a squeeze but said nothing. He was so edgy he didn't trust himself to speak.

Once everyone was settled, Ignatius said, "Proceed, Brother Xavier."

Xavier stood and addressed the board. "As to the matter of Count 6, as I believe I stated before the break, there are a myriad of charges against the Angel Castiel, and one charge against the Angel Gail."

Gail realized that was the first time he had referred to them by name, and as Angels. It had to be by design.

And it was. Xavier had chosen his terminology carefully. He was about to come to the heart of his case, and he wanted to make sure that every Angel in the room realized how cold-blooded Castiel had been over the years. How easily he had turned on and slaughtered his own kind.

"In the interests of time," Xavier said with a grim smile, "I intend to call just one witness to address all of the charges." He turned to look at the gallery, then looked at the table opposite. "I call the Angel Castiel."

Gail was stunned. As Castiel rose, he looked down at her with a sad smile. He should have known. Well, they'd been complaining that he hadn't had the chance to speak, hadn't they? Now it would seem that he was to be given his chance.

He sat on the witness stand, and as he did, the chair emanated a white glow which then faded. Castiel was Upper Echelon, but he was no Archangel. The powers of the chair would compel him to tell the truth. No lies, no evasions. If he lived through this, he must remember to tell Dean about this chair, Cas thought with grim humour. He and Sam would probably love to install it in the bunker and make him sit in it every time he came over.

Xavier regarded Castiel coolly, but waited a few moments to speak, relishing the look of tension on his target's face. You could hear a pin drop in the room. Gail had to let out the breath she'd been holding for fear she'd pass out. Could Angels faint? she thought.

"I wonder if you might tell us how many murders you have committed in your years of service as an Angel?" Xavier began.

"I honestly could not say," Castiel responded. It had been a softball question. Neither of them had any idea what the actual number was, enabling Castiel to answer in such a vague manner.

"Fair enough." Xavier said. "Then I wonder if you could hazard a guess as to how many of your fellow Angels you slaughtered in the Garden?"

Castiel winced inwardly, but he had to answer honestly. "At least five hundred. If I had to guess."

The Angels in the gallery gasped. But Xavier was just beginning.

"Why did you kill all those Angels?" he asked.

"Because they would not stand with me," Castiel answered.

"Did any of them attack you? Threaten you in any way?" Xavier asked.

"No," Castiel said miserably. He knew how it sounded.

"Then, why?" Xavier persisted.

"I don't know, now," Castiel replied, hanging his head. And it was the truth. He'd been different then, and he'd done a lot of things he wished he could take back. He no longer remembered how he had justified such a horrible act to himself at the time.

"You don't know," Xavier said sarcastically. "The genocide of hundreds of Angels, and you can't even offer a reason as to why."

"No, I cannot," Castiel said quietly.

"Perhaps you developed a taste for killing Angels when you slaughtered so many in the Angel war," Xavier said.

That wasn't a question, Gail thought angrily, just a way for Xavier to nail his point home. If this was a proper trial, there should be a lawyer jumping to his or her feet right now, raising an objection. But this was Xavier's show, and it seemed like no one could or even wanted to stop him.

Castiel sighed. "Perhaps I did," he said sadly. He could feel the weight of all the wrongs he had done on his shoulders, and the astonished stares of all of his fellow Angels in the room. He would have killed any one of them back then without batting an eye. He hung his head in shame.

Gail couldn't believe it. Honesty was one thing, but Castiel didn't have to hand Xavier the wood to pile at his own feet, did he?

"Cas!" she called out, and his head snapped up to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"Telling the truth," he said to her. "Because I have to. Because I want to."

Great. Now he had just lit the match. Xavier didn't have to lift a finger to burn Castiel at the stake, he was doing it himself. Gail could understand why he felt the way he did, but Castiel was sentencing himself to death with every word he was saying. Didn't he know that?

Castiel did, but his feelings of guilt had overwhelmed him. Maybe he did deserve to die. Many of the Angels he had killed had not, yet he had taken their lives anyway.

"You killed your Lieutenant Rachel when she attempted to get between you and the Winchester humans, did you not?" Xavier asked Castiel.

"Yes, I did," Castiel replied.

"And the young Angel Samandriel, as well?" Xavier persisted.

"Yes, but I was ordered to by the Angel Naomi," Castiel said. His eyes flashed briefly. That was one of the killings that he regretted most. Naomi had used Castiel in the worst way, taking advantage of his guilt over having rebelled against Heaven and his confused mental state at the time.

"There is no excuse for many of the things that I have done," Castiel continued, "but there have been extenuating circumstances at times."

Gail nearly cheered. Finally.

"Really?" Xavier retorted. "And were there extenuating circumstances when you were helping Metatron to orchestrate The Fall?"

"What does that have to do with Count 6?" Chuck called out from the gallery.

"Normally, interruptions from the gallery are not permitted," Xavier said, turning around to glare at the Angels assembled there. "But I'm glad you asked that question, Brother. Many of you are newer here, I have noticed, and may not be aware of one of the greatest tragedies in our history. I strongly recommend that you read up on the subject."

"Never mind the history lesson," Kevin piped up. Man, was Xavier ever condescending, he thought. We may be young, but we're not stupid.

Ignatius rapped his gavel. "If there are any other interruptions from the gallery, the offending parties will be removed," he said sternly. "This is a serious matter."

Silence. Kevin and Chuck looked at each other. They'd better cool it. But it was maddening to sit up here and listen to Xavier accuse Cas of being in league with Metatron to cause The Fall, when they knew that Castiel had been duped by Metatron into believing he was helping Heaven.

Xavier continued to glare at Kevin and Chuck for a moment longer. It was becoming clear to him that the Prophets were troublemakers. Perhaps, once these proceedings were concluded, Xavier should look into some personnel changes.

In the meantime, though, he had Castiel on the ropes, and Xavier intended to keep him there. He wheeled back around to face Castiel.

"Prior to the interruptions, I believe we were talking about The Fall," he said, almost conversationally. "You are aware, of course, that many Angels died on that day?"

"Yes, I am aware, and I mourn every single one of them," Castiel said. Xavier opened his mouth to speak again, but Castiel was not finished. "But Metatron was the true architect of The Fall. He persuaded me that I was helping to bring the warring factions together, to make peace."

"Killer turned peacemaker," Xavier sneered. "A remarkable transformation."

"It is the truth," Castiel insisted. "I had truly repented of my actions and was trying to atone for them."

"So, you were trying to atone," Xavier said sarcastically. "And your first act of atonement was to commit another murder at Metatron's behest, was it not?"

"Yes," Castiel answered. "A Nephilim."

Most of the Angels in the gallery looked puzzled at that, and Gail was puzzled, too. She couldn't remember him ever having mentioned this before. What was that?

Ignatius looked sharply at Castiel. He was one of the few Angels in the room who knew what a Nephilim was; after all, he had a personal interest in the subject. A Nephilim was an abomination, the child of an Angel and a human. Such beings were extremely rare, thank God, but Ignatius had been concerned about the possibility ever since his daughter Felicia had confessed to him her love for a human man. He had done extensive research on Nephilims. While common sense would seem to suggest that one would only be possible through the union of a male Angel and a female human, the situation was rare, and the lore was extremely vague.

Ignatius cleared his throat. "If I may, Brother Xavier," he said.

Xavier looked up at him. "Yes, Brother?" he asked curiously.

"A Nephilim is an abomination, and an affront to Heaven," Ignatius said sternly. "Were you able to kill it, Brother Castiel?"

Now it was Xavier's turn to look sharply at Ignatius. He didn't like the eagerness in Ignatius's voice, nor did he like the fact that Ignatius had addressed Castiel as "Brother". But Ignatius was the highest ranking board member of the remainder of them, next to himself, and he had supported nearly everything that Xavier had presented up until this point. And the rules stated that any member of the Upper Echelon board could question any witness if they so chose.

"Yes, Ignatius, I did kill the Nephilim," Castiel replied, looking at the dais. "When she tried to kill Metatron, I did not have a choice. Although knowing what I know now, if I could go back, I would have let her do it."

A nervous laugh ran through the gallery at that. Young Angels or longer-serving Angels, everyone knew about Metatron.

Ignatius rapped his gavel once to settle down the crowd, then said to Xavier, "Brother Castiel is to be commended for his action."

Xavier was stunned. He hadn't intended to suggest that the killing of the abomination was anything but a good thing; he'd merely been trying to build the framework of Castiel and Metatron's loathsome connection. And now the presiding member of the board was commending Castiel! He'd better wrap this up, before the impact of Castiel's confessions on the stand was diluted. He'd wanted to sneak in more about Castiel's partnership with Metatron, to foster more bad will towards Castiel, but Xavier realized he'd better cut his losses, as the rest of the story didn't precisely realte to Count 6. And due to the unexpected support from Ignatius and the outbursts from the gallery, Xavier felt that there was potential for Castiel to gain sympathy if the belief prevailed that he had indeed been ill-used by Metatron.

So Xavier said, "The witness may step down."

Castiel stood from the witness chair. A part of him was relieved to be done, but mostly, he felt miserable. He had been exposed as a cold-blooded killer, and he had no defense for his actions.

He made his way back to his chair, and Gail tried to take his hand once he sat down, but he kept away from her. He didn't deserve the comfort she was inexplicably trying to provide. She should not be sitting with him here now, tainted by her association with him.

"When you left me in Dallas, you should have kept on going," he said bitterly, avoiding her eyes.

Gail's heart broke for him, but there was nothing she could say or do. Xavier had clearly won this round. And he was not yet finished.

"Begging the board's indulgence, I would like to call one more witness before we break for the day," Xavier said. He turned to look at Castiel, relishing the sight of him sitting with his head down, his spirit broken. Then Xavier's gaze shifted.

"Call the Angel Gail."

Gail felt frozen to her chair, unable to move. Did she really have to do this? She knew she was being charged with one count of murder as well, but Xavier had said he was only calling the one witness. Now it appeared as though he'd changed his mind. She'd anticipated her turn was coming under Count 7, but she was unprepared for this. And after seeing what the chair had done to Castiel, Gail was afraid to sit in it.

But it seemed she wouldn't be given a choice. Her knees felt weak as she slowly rose and as she moved behind Castiel's chair, he reached out to touch her arm as she passed. Well, that was something, anyway.

Gail sat gingerly in the witness chair and saw the white glow surround her, then dissipate.

Xavier wasted no time. "Did you kill the Angel Aaron?" he asked her.

"Who?" she thought, but the chair had compelled her to say it out loud. Crap. That had come out wrong, but she honestly didn't know who he was talking about.

"The Angel you killed in the Winchesters' motel room, while you and Castiel were trying to avoid apprehension," Xavier retorted. "He had a name, and he had a family."

"We weren't...we were coming back voluntarily," she stammered.

"Then why were there five dead Angels in that room?" Xavier snapped. "All of whom had names, and families, and had served Heaven honourably for many years."

Gail's thoughts were muddled. Was it the chair, or her sudden sense of guilt? But Xavier was making it sound like these guys were martyrs. "They had Dean tied up, and Jason was going to torture him - " she started to say, but Xavier interrupted her.

"So, the life of one human is more precious than the lives of five Angels?" he asked, adding sarcastically, "And you yourself are an Angel, are you not?"

"Yes...no..." Gail struggled to explain herself. What the hell was the matter with her? Things had looked so easy from the table; now that she was the one in the hotseat, she couldn't seem to string together a complete thought. She looked to Castiel for support, but he was staring off into space with a faraway expression.

"You're twisting things around!" she exclaimed.

"Am I?" Xavier said coolly. "Tell me, how does it feel to kill one of your own?"

Her temper rose. "Why don't YOU tell US? Isn't that what you're trying to do to us?"

Xavier's eyes flashed. "An eye for an eye," he retorted. "Although there wouldn't be enough eyes in the entire room to even make a dent in your boyfriend's case."

"That didn't sound like a question to me," Gail said tartly.

He smiled. "Quite right. So here is one: Did you kill the Angel Aaron? Yes, or no?"

"Yes," she replied. She had no choice.

"Did he attack you?" Xavier asked her.

"No," she said. "But..."

"I know," Xavier interrupted. "The human was tied up, and you were coming back voluntarily. Five dead Angels later. Tell me, would you have killed more, had they been in the room?"

"Yes," Gail answered. Damn this chair. But it was the truth. To save Dean and Sam, she and Castiel would have killed a hundred of the bastards.

"I have no further questions of this 'Angel'," Xavier said, dismissing her.

Tears blurred Gail's eyes as she walked back to the table, and as she walked by Xavier, he said softly, "I look forward to another conversation tomorrow. We'd all like to get to know the real you." She tried not to look at him, she really did, but she could hear the smile in his voice.

By the time she returned to her chair, the tears were falling down Gail's cheeks, and now she was the one to hang her head. She felt Castiel's hand underneath her chin, and he tilted her head up, making her look at him. "This is all my fault," he said. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Please remember that," he said to her.

Becky and a few other female Angels in the gallery sighed, but it was the board's opinion that really mattered, and their expressions were grave. Aaron had been Lanister's son.

"Move to adjourn for the day," Xavier said to Ignatius. He wanted to end today on a high note.

"So moved," Ignatius said, banging his gavel. "We reconvene at 9 a.m. tomorrow."

Everyone filed out of the hearing room in silence. Chuck and Kevin looked at each other despairingly. How the hell were they going to drum up support for their friends now?

Jason walked over to Castiel and Gail. "Let's go, you two," he said to them, then smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be all over tomorrow. One way or the other."

But they were too disheartened to rise to the bait, and the walk back to the jail was quiet and uneventful. Jason was a little disappointed, but he wasn't particularly surprised. He had to hand it to Xavier; he had done a masterful job this afternoon, after the setback in the morning.

This time, Jason escorted Gail to her cell first. He opened the door and she moved forward meekly. Just before she stepped in, Castiel caught her arm. "This was all my doing," he said to her, "and I will do everything I can to fix it."

Gail looked at him. Fix it? She almost laughed. Had he been at the same hearing as her? Had he seen the faces of the Angels on the board? There was nothing to fix. They were as good as done.

But she tried to smile. He meant well. As he always did. "I'll see you tomorrow, Cas." Using his Earthly name.

Castiel drew her to him for a hug. Let Jason slash him if he wanted; the blade couldn't hurt him any more than he was hurting right now.

But Jason stood back, letting them have their moment. Don't say I never did anything for you, Brother, he thought. Make it a good one. The next time you see her, I'll be cutting her to ribbons.

Castiel was sitting dejectedly in his cell. He had to do something. He was sinking fast, and pulling Gail down with him.

"Visitor," Ethan announced, bringing the Angel into the cellblock. He stared at Castiel, trying to reconcile what he'd heard about him with the words he'd heard coming from Castiel himself this afternoon at the hearing. He couldn't do it. Who was this guy, really? Chuck and Kevin were in his corner, trying to rally Ethan and other Angels to support him, but after what Ethan had seen and heard this afternoon, he thought they were crazy.

But he had a job to do, and Aurielle was bringing Castiel his copy of the Affidavit as ordered by Ignatius. The document was too thick to pass between the bars, so Ethan tried to take it from her, but Aurielle said, "I was ordered to hand it to him personally."

So Ethan opened the cell door and Aurielle walked in. Castiel remained seated, glaring at her. She turned back to Ethan, saying, "Give us a moment."

Ethan saw the way Castiel was looking at her and after what he'd heard this afternoon, he wasn't sure if he should leave them alone. But this was the Angel that Castiel had rescued from Metatron, and Ethan knew that Castiel had no powers here, and no weapon.

Aurielle saw the indecision on Ethan's face and said, "I have a confidential message from Xavier himself. You need to leave us."

That decided Ethan, and he left, saying, "I'll be at the end of the hallway."

Once he had gone, Aurielle turned to Castiel. She extended the Affidavit to him, but he did not reach for it, so she moved to the bunk and set it down next to him.

"What is this message?" he said, looking past her.

"There is no message," she told him softly. "I just wanted to speak to you alone."

"Why?" he asked tonelessly. He would not look at her. Why wouldn't he look at her? Aurielle couldn't stand it. She had waited so long to be alone with him, and now she needed to feel his gaze on her. She reached out and touched his face, trying to turn his head her way, and he grabbed her wrist roughly.

"Don't," he said, pulling her hand away from his face. No one was going to touch his face except for Gail, Aurielle least of all.

"So, you're still under her spell," Aurielle said bitterly. He did look at her then, and Castiel finally understood. He laughed, without any trace of amusement. "I love her," he told Aurielle.

"You only think you do," Aurielle insisted. "You will find out the truth tomorrow, when the evidence against her is produced." She was thinking of the spell book in her desk drawer, which Aurielle still thought belonged to Gail.

Evidence? What evidence? Castiel thought. Aurielle was clearly still delusional. She'd claimed that Gail was conspiring to assassinate Castiel back in Dallas, using that as an excuse to torture and nearly kill Gail. But that had been a fabrication, and now here she was again, ranting about "evidence". Aurielle was crazy, and Castiel now realized after all this time that she was obsessed with the idea of getting rid of Gail so she could replace her and be with him.

"Get out," he said to her. "You will never achieve your goal."

They stared at each other, and Aurielle said, "She will receive the death penalty. I heard the board discussing it after this afternoon's session."

He felt the stab of apprehension. Maybe Aurielle was speaking out of spite, but he couldn't take that chance.

"Tell Xavier I need to see him immediately," he said.

Xavier entered Castiel's cell. "What is it?" he demanded.

"I want to make a deal," Castiel told him.

Xavier smirked. "What makes you think you're in any position to negotiate?" he said.

"I'm not trying to negotiate," Castiel replied. "I will plead guilty on all Counts if you drop the charges against Gail."

Interesting, Xavier thought. But not altogether unexpected, especially how things had gone this afternoon. And what was to come tomorrow.

"Drop the charges?" he scoffed. "And why would I do that?"

Castiel sighed. Xavier was really going to make him do this? But he would do it, if it would save her life. "I'm begging you," he said to Xavier.

Xavier smiled. What a wonderful moment. He only wished he had this on tape, so he could play it over and over. "I'll think about it."

"Count 6, then," Castiel persisted. "And you will not compel her to tesify under Count 7."

Xavier appeared to consider. Truthfully, he didn't care if Gail was found guilty on the murder charge. Her death meant nothing to him. Of course, Lanister may not agree, as it had been his son that she had killed. But the vote on any charge carrying the death penalty had to be unanimous, or it could not stand. He could convince Lanister that this sacrifice had to be made in order to rid Heaven of Castiel once and for all. If Castiel stood in the hearing room and pled guilty to all charges, rendering a vote unnecessary, the death penalty could be levied against him automatically. And Xavier could still bring the charges under Count 7 against Gail tomorrow. After he put her back on the stand, a guilty verdict was a near certainty; only the length of her prison term would have to be determined. Then, if Lanister wanted vengeance for his son's murder, something could be arranged.

"Agreed," Xavier said to Castiel. "But Count 7 will stand."

Castiel breathed with relief. He'd wanted her to go free, but at least now she would live. Count 7 was only a morals charge. She would likely receive a sentence of a few months, at most.

Xavier was staring at him, and Castiel stared back, fighting to keep his expression neutral. He could not afford to piss Xavier off until the dropped charge was formally announced tomorrow.

"Yes?" Castiel said, as mildly as he could stand to say it.

"You're welcome," Xavier said sarcastically, then he turned and left Castiel's cell.

A couple of minutes later, Xavier arrived in front of Gail's cell. He saw that she was curled up on the bunk, her back to him. What was she doing? She couldn't be sleeping.

Gail was looking at her photo, of course. If only she had the power to turn back time. Forget what was morally right, they should never have come back. She made a mental apology to Barry and Tommy. Of course, they'd had no choice but to engage with Jason and his thugs when they'd had Dean at their mercy, and if she and Cas had not come back, the Winchesters would have remained in peril indefinitely. She supposed this had been inevitable. But their morals were about to cost them dearly. She shook her head. Morals? Who said she had any? At least, that was what she was anticipating Xavier to claim about her tomorrow.

He cleared his throat from behind her, and Gail stuffed the picture down the front of her pants. She couldn't risk it being confiscated again; it was the only remnant of their old life she had now.

Gail rose from her bunk and was startled to see Xavier standing there. What the hell could he possibly want? Wouldn't he be tormenting her enough tomorrow?

"I have good news," Xavier said to her. "You're free to go."

Her heart jumped in her chest, but she didn't trust him. She'd seen this in the movies, too. The bad guy told you that you were free to go, but then there was always a catch.

"What's the catch?" she asked him.

Xavier looked at her, and she recognized his expression. She'd seen it on Castiel enough times. "So you're just letting me walk free?" she amended, realizing he didn't understand the phrase she'd used.

"Not exactly," he replied, "but your charge under Count 6 is dismissed. As you are no longer under charge for a capital offense, we will not hold you in jail. However, you're still expected to reappear tomorrow morning to answer on Count 7." Xavier then called Ethan, who came to open Gail's cell door.

She started to walk out of the cell, but she was still highly suspicious. Why would Xavier drop the most serious charge against her? She knew it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart.

"What about Castiel?" Gail asked Xavier once she was outside her cell.

"He has to stay," Xavier responded, smiling at her. She didn't like the look of that smile. She didn't like it at all.

Xavier turned to Ethan. "Would you excuse us for a moment?"

When Ethan had retreated, Xavier turned back to Gail. "Why are you doing this?" she asked him.

His smile grew wider. "Because Castiel asked me to."

Gail made a face. Yeah, right.

"As a matter of fact, he begged me to," Xavier said. He loved saying that. "He agreed to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for my dropping Count 6 against you. But Count 7 will stand. I'm looking forward to receiving a real education on the ways of immorality from you tomorrow."

No! she thought. He didn't! He couldn't have. Oh, who was she kidding? In order to remove the noose from her neck, Castiel had tied one around his own neck and kicked away the chair. She had never loved him more, yet she had never wanted to smack him in the face more, either. What had he done?

Minutes later, Gail appeared in the library area of the bunker. No Sam or Dean. Oh please, let them be here. She'd never needed to see them so badly.

"Sam? Dean?" she called out, moving down the hallway.

"We're in here, Gail." Sam's voice, coming from the kitchen.

Thank God. She hurried into the kitchen, where the brothers were just sitting down to dinner. Sam rose, smiling as he saw her, but his smile quickly faded as Gail flung herself into his arms, crying.

"We're in trouble," she said. "Bad trouble."

END OF BOOK 4.


End file.
